


In a Sky Full of Stars (I think I saw you)

by Lecavayay, verbaeghe



Series: Nowhere, Oklahoma [3]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Accidental Dating, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, M/M, Slow Burn, Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ugly Duckling Syndrome, gratuitous cameos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-03 21:08:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14577693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecavayay/pseuds/Lecavayay, https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/pseuds/verbaeghe
Summary: Even from a distance, Jake can tell the car’s going way too fast. Way above the the speed limit. He makes sure the radar gun is ready when the headlights disappear in the last dip of road before it’ll reach him. The music hits him first, some classic power ballad, and then the car is there and gone, setting off the detector at 101.Holy shit.Jake flips on his lights and peels a u-turn out after the car.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Behold! Our babble! 
> 
> The entire story is finished but instead of dropping 25k on you all at once, we'll be posting a chapter a week :) 
> 
> *This does take place in the same town as the first two parts. It can definitely stand alone but we lovingly recommend reading the other two parts when you have the chance :))

_One year after the end of Greener..._

 

Jake is in an amazing mood as he pulls into his normal parking spot on Main street, just around the corner from the precinct. Today is the day that he’s finally going to talk to, well, he doesn’t know her name yet, but that’s all going to change. He’s been seeing her every Wednesday for the last little while on his way into work, long blond hair and little jean jacket, and she always smiles at him, brilliant and bright. It takes her from pretty straight into beautiful.

It’s honestly been the highlight of each week for the past month.

He’s never actually said anything to her beyond a polite tip of his hat and a _ma’am_ , but today he’s going to say hello to her, ask her name. Maybe invite her to have dinner at Big Number 9 Diner with him sometime if it goes well. And he’s positive it will. He’s just got this _feeling_.

Jake hops down from his truck, walking with purpose down the sidewalk where he usually strolls. He’s already smiling when she comes around the corner.

And then someone else comes around the corner too.

Their hands are linked and he’s leaning in, whispering something in her ear that has her giggling and blushing. Smiling that smile he always thought was just for him. Jake’s heart sinks.

She still shoots him a distracted smile when they cross paths, he still tips his hat to her (and the guy, his ma didn’t raise him to be rude), but the excitement he felt driving in to town is gone, replaced with an emptiness in his chest. It’s heartbreaking to know that he missed his chance.

No, it isn’t that. At all.

It’s the reminder that he never had one.

 

The station is quiet except for the old box television propped up in the corner, black and white reruns of Andy Griffith always on at this time of day. All three holding cells are empty as is Caley’s workspace, which isn’t surprising given the hour.

“Whoa, who pissed in your cheerios?” Teddy asks, feet up on the desk he shares with Jake. He’s wrist deep in the bag of cheetos Jake left in the drawer yesterday.

“I’m fine.”

Teddy licks the orange dust from his fingers and drops his feet. “Whatever you say. Boss wants you to sit out on 60 tonight.”

“Perfect.” Just what he needs, more time alone with his own thoughts.

 

//

 

Jake’s been sitting on the side of the road for three hours, bored out of his mind. Being stuck on the night shift for what feels like forever sucks and it sucks even more clocking radar when he doesn’t even have any weekend joyriding teens to look forward to.

He’s just. Bored. So, so bored.

Which means his mind wanders aimlessly from one subject to another, eventually swirling around the Girl in the Jean Jacket and her new beau, which makes him think about all the other people in this town who have found their person. About Witty and Molly, Connor and Anna, Slater and his city boy, and the newest couple, Pudge and Cory. How even Pudge had someone wander into town for him to fall in love with and yet, Jake’s still just watching it all happen. Like an idiot.

It makes him remember the first time, back when he’d been eleven and gone looking for Witty during recess. He wanted to talk to Witty pretty much constantly back then, because, even though he was twelve and a whole grade higher, he still let Jake hang around. Jake had looked for him everywhere, had almost given up, when he remembered to check behind the school gym where they all sometimes played hacky sack.

And, well, he’d found Witty, but he wasn’t playing hacky sack with the boys. No, he was hiding away back there, kissing Molly Smithe. Jake’d covered his mouth to smother the gasp that escaped him and backed away without a word, old enough even then to realize that making himself known would have made it awkward for everyone.

After dinner that night, he’d asked his ma why people did things like kiss.

“Sometimes people like one another so much that they can’t keep it inside themselves anymore and they have to share those feelings. Kissing is the first special way to do that.”

“What are some of the other ways?”

“That’s a talk for another day, pumpkin.”

The talk never came, though; it isn’t necessary to have that talk with someone no one wants.

Which leads him right around to his least favorite boredom topic: himself. He can’t put his finger on exactly what it is that’s wrong with him.

Well, he can. He’s heard the list enough times over the years. He’s got a big forehead, for starters. It was worse back when his mom used to shear his hair close to his scalp, forever immortalized in yearbook after yearbook. Now it’s not quite as bad since he lets his hair grow, as wild and unruly as it is (he’s still often reminded of it when, after a few too many beers, someone invariably pulls out a book and flips through the pages until everyone can point and laugh at each other…but always him the most). And don’t forget his upturned nose, which has more than a passing resemblance to a pig’s snout, if what he’s heard from others about it is anything to go by. It’s really worked out well, becoming a cop with it looking the way it does.

His lips are shaped funny and they pull down into a frown naturally. His ears are comically big, bigger than Slater’s who used to get called Dumbo. He’s got...

He’s got a lot of flaws, is what he’s saying.

None of that is actually the point, though. The point is: kissing is for people who have feelings for one another, and no one is ever going to have feelings for the likes of Jake Dotchin.

Great, he’s so bored that he’s down on himself again. Maybe he should just--

Something startles him and he looks up, checking his side and rearview mirrors in quick succession. There’s nothing there but his heart is loud in his chest. The wind turns cold, whipping in through his open window and standing the hairs on his arms on end.

Headlights blink into view over the hill.

Even from a distance, Jake can tell the car’s going way too fast. Way above the the speed limit. He makes sure the radar gun is ready when the headlights disappear in the last dip of road before it’ll reach him. The music hits him first, some classic power ballad, and then the car is there and gone, setting off the detector at 101.

Holy shit.

Jake flips on his lights and peels a u-turn out after the car.   

It takes him almost a quarter of a mile to catch up with it, and then he has a flash of panic when he thinks the perp isn’t going to stop. The car does eventually start to slow down though, pulling over onto the rocky shoulder just a few miles from the county line.

Jake slides in after him, breathes for a minute. He doesn’t recognize the car at all, and that’s always a little unnerving. He squeezes his steering wheel to steel himself before grabbing his maglight from the passenger seat.

He steps out of the car, pulling himself up to full height as he walks the fifteen feet or so up to the car in front of him. Jake taps on the doorframe with his flashlight when he arrives at the open window. “License and registration.”

“I’m sort of in a rush,” an unfamiliar accent snaps at him.

“Yeah, I could see that,” Jake replies with an absent smile as he accepts the papers. He flashes his light at them. _Yanni Gourde from Quebec, Canada_. This guy is just a bit out of place.  

“Can you just give me my ticket and let me go?”

Jake hands the guy’s license back. “Actually, I clocked you going thirty-six over the speed limit, and that calls for a bit more than a ticket around these parts.”

Yanni slams his hands on his steering wheel. “It’s a country road! Why are there any speed limits at all?!”

Jake doesn’t much care for this guy’s tone. “I think it might be best if you step out of your vehicle, Mr. Gourde.”

He mutters something unintelligible under his breath when he pops the door open, which Jake chooses to ignore, because he’s the bigger person. He blinks down at the guy. Figuratively and literally, apparently.

“Where ya off to in such a hurry?” he asks conversationally, walking to the back of the car and pulling out his phone so he can run the tag.

“I have an appointment in Tulsa.” The guy crosses his arms. “Pretty freaking soon, actually, so can we finish this up?”

Jake ignores him, tapping the tag numbers into the app. It comes back clean and belonging to one Yanni Gourde, so that’s a relief, anyway. “This all checks out.”

“Does that mean that I am free to go?” Mr. Gourde smiles up at Jake and his heart pangs in the way that it’s wont to do. After the day that he’s had, it’s that feeling, more than anything else, that has him debating just writing a hefty ticket and letting the guy go.

There’s some dumb little voice nagging in the back of his mind, though. It’s telling him that he _has_ to arrest this guy, and it’s being pretty persistent about it. Jake sighs, gives in to his conscience, or whatever.

“No, unfortunately. The speed you were going is grounds for automatic arrest.”

“What?” His voice is flat, disbelieving.

“I’m sorry,” Jake says, and he really is. He takes a deep breath and starts reciting Mr. Gourde his Miranda rights.

 

//

 

The first thing Jake does when they arrive at the station is put in a call to Witty’s shop so Mr. Gourde’s car can be brought in. The second thing he does is pull Mr. Gourde from the back and lead him inside. He’s glad that it’s late, that the station is empty, because he hadn’t been able to bring himself to handcuff the guy.

“I’ll need your license again, Mr. Gourde.”

He waits for him to fish it back out of his wallet and toss it on the desk.

“You can have a seat right here.” Jake indicates the chair closest to Caley’s desk where the criminals getting booked usually sit. Jake watches him petulantly throw himself down into the chair before turning his attention to the screen at his own desk.

Jake sighs. He hates typing, mostly because he isn’t any good at it, and he hates it even more when he has an audience. He breathes deeply through his nose and begins putting in the information.

One key at a time. Tap. Tap. Tap.

He knows he’s taking forever and it’s getting to the point where he’s afraid to look up, to see how he’s being judged. Jake braces himself, takes a look through his bangs, and is surprised to see the guy isn’t even looking at him.

Mr. Gourde is busy playing with his fingernails, not paying Jake any attention. He’s slumped down with his head resting on the back of the chair, legs spread, taking up as much space as he can. Jake notices the little tear in his jeans, just above his knee, and draws his eyes back to the keyboard.

He knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth and goes back to typing.

“Okay,” Jake says, mostly to himself when the computer finally assigns him a number. He pulls out the little kit with all their numbers and letters to make up the slate. They’re missing all the 7s, so he uses an upside down L. “C’mon, let’s get your picture taken.”

He walks Mr. Gourde across the room to where the camera is set up on a tripod in front of a blue screen with measurements running up the side. Jake hands the slate over, giving a little nod towards the screen. He steps behind the camera, powering it up and putting it into focus.

Jake looks up when he notices the top of Mr. Gourde’s head brushing the seventy-two inch line, frowning when he catches him up on his tiptoes. “Stop that,” he says without any malice in his voice.

He giggles, but drops to down to his normal height.

Jake is quick to snap a couple of pictures from the front and one from the side before the guy acts up again. “Okay, now we--”

“What do I call you?” he asks.

“My name is on my badge.” Jake taps at it absentmindedly.

“You want me you call you Dotchin?” His accent makes Jake’s last name sound better than it actually is, and Jake isn’t really ready to listen to that right now.

“Maybe you should call me Jake,” he tries.

“Is that short for Jacob?”

And that sounds worse. Better. No, worse. It’s too late now, though. “Yeah, Jacob.”

“Okay, I will call you Jacob and you should call me Yanni.” He beams up at Jake as he guides him over to Caley’s desk and the fingerprinting materials.

“I’m not sure that’s proper, Mr. Gourde.” Jake lays down the print sheet and opens the ink pad he pulls from a drawer. “Right hand first, please.”

Yanni holds out his hand. “Stop it with that southern hospitality, it’s not like you have to woo me into a jail cell. You already have me.”

Jake’s face heats up and he actually guides the fingers in his hand wide of the ink pad. “I, um. I’m sorry. Normally this is up to Caley, our administrator, but it’s so late.” He sighs. “I don’t do this very often,” he adds, mostly to himself.

“I can tell,” Yanni replies.

Jake looks up, ready to snap something authoritative at him, but he finds Yanni smiling softly. Jake has no idea what to do, faced with that. He rolls Yanni’s right-hand pinky on the paper before switching to the left, finishing up without any further incident.

“I have to put you in a cell now so I can finish this paperwork, Mister...Yanni.”

“I understand.” He steps into the holding cell area and nods his head toward the nearest cell. “Do I get to pick?”

“Sure.”

He picks the one second from the right.

Jake slides the door closed, feeling comforted by the loud metallic click it makes when the lock catches. “Just holler if you need me.”

He settles back at his desk and isn’t working on the incident report for more than thirty seconds before Yanni starts talking.

“Hey, you really do this all by yourself?”

“Only at night.” Jake finishes putting his signature on the form in front of him. “I’m not the only officer in this county, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Of course not,” Yanni replies.

The way Jake’s desk is situated, he can just make out the impish grin on his face that says otherwise. Still, there’s something about it that has Jake flashing his own smile back before he slides the paperwork into a file to place in the slot outside Sheriff Yzerman’s door.

“I’ve still got some rounds to make,” he says, leaning into the cell block. “But I’ll be back later, okay?”

“You’re leaving me here all alone?”

“The only criminal around here is you.” Jake smirks. “You’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but I’m hungry,” Yanni says, voice slipping into a whine.

“I’ll bring you back some bread and water,” Jake calls over his shoulder on the way out the door. Yanni’s laughter follows him out, and the hummingbird that lives in his chest flutters.

 

//

 

Jake may or may not bring Yanni back a burger and fries from the diner, and if the way Yanni lights up when he sees the bag warms Jake’s heart? Well, no one but him knows, so it doesn’t matter.

 

//

 

First thing Thursday morning, Jake gets word that Judge Vinik had his docket cleared because he’s dealing with an emergency regarding his prized pig, Morris. Something about eating the wrong thing and, really, Jake doesn’t even want to finish reading it. He frowns at his phone before rising from the desk to relay the good news.

“Are you actually serious?” Yanni asks, looking up at him through the bars. He slips his arms through them and leans on his elbows, hip cocked out in frustration. 

It shouldn’t be attractive at all, but Jake finds himself lingering on his forearms. 

“You are fucking with me right now, no?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Gourde-”

“Yanni.”

“I’m sorry, _Yanni_ , but I’m not. Judge Vinik never jokes around when it comes to Morris.”

“What am I supposed to do? Just sit here because your Judge is minding his _pig_?”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” Jake answers.

Yanni makes an impatient noise.

“I really am sorry.”

“Thanks, but that doesn’t really help me get to Tulsa.” Yanni huffs, throwing himself down on the nearby mattress.

Jake stands there, wishing there was something he could say or do to make it better, and then Yanni is smiling and his thoughts stutter to a halt.

“Hey, I was wondering,--”

Yanni stops short when Teddy walks into the holding area. “Go ahead and knock off, Dotch. I’ve got it from here.” He’s looking at Yanni’s file, flipping through the pages carelessly.

“Hello to you too,” Jake says in reply.

Teddy shrugs and turns to Yanni. “One-oh-one, not bad.”

“Don’t do that,” Jake snaps.

“What? It’s a good number! I think the record is 137 but it’s the highest we’ve seen in a while, right?”

“The speed limit is sixty-five.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Teddy steps out to settle at their desk and tosses the file on it.

“See you tonight,” Jake says in Yanni’s direction, before he goes to gather his things. He ignores the look that Teddy gives him, heading straight to his truck so he can go home and get some sleep.

 

//

 

“That kid in there is a menace,” Teddy snaps when Jake arrives less than sixteen hours later for his evening shift. “He didn’t stop complaining all day.”

“Really?” Jake raises his eyebrows. “He didn’t seem that bad to me,” he says, frowning at the closed door leading to the holding cells. It’s never closed. “Also, he’s older than me, so I’d hardly call him a kid.”

“I’m right here,” Yanni snaps, muffled. “I can _hear_ you.”

“No shit? Older than you?” Teddy glances toward the door where they can see Yanni physically pouting, hands on his hips. “He doesn’t _look_ older than you.”

“I’m twenty-six!” he shouts.

“You’d know that if you actually read his file when you had it open,” Jake says with a shrug.

Teddy grabs Jake, pulling him away from the cells. “I don’t really want to deal with him again,” he bitches quietly. “When’s his hearing?”

“First thing tomorrow.”

Teddy groans.

“I can just stay on in the morning and take him,” Jake offers. He’d do anything to shut him up and make him leave at this point.

“Oh, lord, thanks man, I owe you one.” Teddy doesn’t even pretend that he’ll come in and do his job, which is typical.

It’s not as if Yanni won’t be gone after his hearing. “Sure, no problem.”

Teddy waves over his shoulder on his way out and Jake opens the door into the holding area immediately. He thinks for a second that Yanni perks up once they’re alone but he realizes pretty quick that it’s probably just his imagination working overtime again.

“Heard you’re a bit of a problem child,” Jake drawls, a slow smile blooming on his face.

“I only asked for food!” Yanni throws his hands up, already all heated. It’s kind of cute. “It was past lunch time and he didn’t give me any food.” Yanni crosses his arms. “I guess not everyone here is as good at their job as you are.”

The words mean more to him than they should, so he shoves the little warm feeling down. Jake knows that they’re just words meant to butter him up.

But still.

 

Maybe, just maybe, Jake picks him up some spaghetti and meatballs from the best Italian place in town.

 

//

 

Jake watches the clock tick over to 7:30, finally, and gets up from his desk to put a fresh pot of coffee on, watching the sunrise as it percolates. It’s already been a long day.

He pours an extra mug for Yanni and carries it to the cell where he’s still sleeping. Jake thinks he looks small, even on the twin-sized cot. His mouth is open and he’s breathing heavily though it, letting out little puffs of air. It’s cute.

“Up and at ‘em, sunshine,” Jake says.

“Ugh, already?” Yanni mutters into the regulation pillow his face is buried in.

“Not if you don’t want to see the judge.”

“I’m up, I’m up.” Yanni pushes himself upright, scratches blearily at his messy hair. Jake gets the briefest flash of what it would be like to wake up to that, but shakes it away before it gets out of hand.

He holds the mug through the bars. “I brought you some coffee.”

“Thanks.” Yanni accepts it without even looking over.

“I’ll, uh, give you a minute,” Jake says, turning back to his desk. “Your hearing’s at eight.”

 

//

 

“Aren’t you going to put handcuffs on me at some point?” Yanni asks when Jake lets him out of the cell.

“Nah, I trust you.” Jake smiles. “The courthouse it just a couple blocks away and it isn’t raining, so do you really want to walk there in handcuffs?”

“Well, no, not really.”

“Alright then, let’s go.” Jake makes a dramatic sweeping gesture, and then immediately feels like a total idiot for it. He just shakes his head, rolling his eyes at himself, and leads Yanni out of the building.

“Hey, it’s pretty nice out here,” Yanni says when they turn and start down the sidewalk. “I’ve missed the sun.”

“Most places are nicer in the sunlight,” Jake agrees. He wants to smile, engage Yanni about the sun and the flowers and how beautiful it all is, but this is business.

“No, I don’t mean just that,” Yanni says pointedly. “I mean it’s a nice day. The temperature is nice and those flowers over there are nice.”

“Okay, I get it. Stop saying nice.”

“Nice, nice, nice.”

“Stop being a little s-” Jake catches himself just in time. He’s supposed to be the professional here.

“A little what?” Yanni blinks up at him, innocent. “Sweet guy? Sorry, I can’t.”

Jake opens his mouth, intending to tell Yanni just how sweet he is _not_ , but stops short when he notices a hummingbird flitting about at the feeder behind him. He hasn’t seen one in ages because he’s usually asleep at this time of day.

“There’s a hummingbird behind you,” Jake says. He expects Yanni to whip around and scare it off, but he doesn’t. His eyes widen faintly before he slowly turns in place.

“I’ve never seen one before,” he whispers over his shoulder at Jake. They watch it take one more drink from the feeder before it flutters off back in the direction of the station. Jake feels lighter just watching it fly away.

“That was so cool!” Yanni looks at him with bright eyes.

“Sometimes things in small towns are,” Jake replies with a smile. He nudges Yanni with his elbow. “Now, come on, because I can promise you that Judge Vinik will not be cool if we arrive late.”

Jake spends the rest of the walk pointing out landmarks and giving Yanni bits of information about each of them. The general store where he spent all of his allowance money on candy when he was small. The post office that dates back to the 1800s. And, his personal favorite, the town square with the statue of the founder.

“Looks like it would be good for climbing,” Yanni says conversationally.

“Maybe,” Jake replies, as if he didn’t climb it like every other day from ages five until twelve. Give or take. “Okay, we’re here.” Jake places a hand on Yanni’s arm so it doesn’t look like he’s just letting the guy wander the streets and tugs him into the building.

“Mornin’, Miss Chelios,” Jake says when they step into the small reception area. She looks up from the file in her hands, perking right up when she sees Yanni.

“So, this must be our little criminal,” she drawls, and oh no, that’s her ‘engaging’ smile. “You didn’t tell me that he’s so cute, Dotch.” She drops the file, leans over the edge of the desk.

“I didn’t tell you anything about him,” Jake says, his voice flat. He’s trying to keep annoyance out of it, but it’s a close thing. It isn’t like she notices anyway.

“In your report, I mean.” She taps her nails on the file in front of her, still smiling. “I guess I should have known when I read that he has green eyes.” She’s beaming now, even. “Cause guys with green eyes are always just _so_ cute.”

Yanni’s tucked himself behind Jake and Jake is pretty sure that he’s trying to hide himself, so he decides to try and distract her. “Hey, I have green eyes, you know.”

“Huh.” She finally shifts her attention to Jake. “I never noticed.” She squints at him. “Are you sure they’re green?”

Jake opens his mouth, wanting to tell her that of course he knows what color his eyes are, or maybe something about disproving her theory about guys with green eyes, but the computer next to her pings before he can say anything at all.

“Oh, there’s you guys now! Y’all head on back.”

“Thanks,” Jake says in a monotone voice.

“Hope to see you again before you head out,” she says to Yanni with a wink.

Yeah, Jake would really hate for her to miss out on seeing more of a cute guy with green eyes, since she never gets to see any of them. What a tragedy that would be.

Jake sneaks a look at Yanni. It isn’t like his eyes are any less green than Yanni’s. They aren’t. If anything they’re _more_ green. How is it possible that she never noticed his eye color? Sure, he doesn’t have a boyish face or a cute, rounded nose, but she somehow didn’t notice his eyes at any point during the last two and half years she’s been the administrator?

He knows that he isn’t cute, but she doesn’t have to rub it in, to...to--

“Is she always like that?” Yanni asks, interrupting his internal monologue.

Jake huffs through his nose and leads Yanni into the chambers.

“Nah, you’re just a special case,” comes out of Jake’s mouth before he gives his brain permission. His cheeks heat, and he’s already blushed more around this guy in the past day then the last ten years. “Oh, I mean. We don’t have many people passing through.”

“I can’t wait to pass through,” Yanni replies, giving Jake the out that he desperately needs. “I can’t believe that I’ve already been here an extra day because the judge’s pig had a bellyache.”

“Maybe don’t say that when Judge Vinik is here.” Jake schools his face even though he wants to laugh. “And I don’t think it was a-”

“It doesn’t matter. Leaving people sitting in a holding cell because of a pig is a terrible way to run a city!” Yanni is flushed and maybe just a bit more angry than the situation calls for, but he’s beaut--

“Maybe, as an outsider, you should refrain from telling me how I should run my town, son.”

They turn towards the voice and Jake feels sort of crappy that he let Yanni mouth off in front of the judge, but it’s not Jake’s fault he’s quieter than a field mouse.

“I just have a pretty decent idea of how government is supposed to run,” Yanni snaps.

Jake clears his throat.

Yanni glances at him, then adds, “Your Honor.”

“I suppose you don’t know that when there’s only one judge in a town, sometimes they have to miss a day due to personal reasons, and when that happens, things have to be put on hold.”

“Oh, yes, I’m certain that you didn’t have any time all day long to stop by and take care of the one case on your docket.” Yanni rolls his eyes for extra emphasis.

Jake takes a step back, bites his bottom lip nervously. He has no idea what to expect from Judge Vinik after this sort of outburst.

“Well, I have time now, don’t I?” His voice is pleasant. Too pleasant. He opens the file in front of him. “This is all pretty cut and dry.”

“How much of a fine am I going to have to pay?” Yanni asks. “Your Honor.”

“Well, if this was just a case of speeding, it would be a fine, but now that you’re in contempt, I’m afraid that it’s a little more.”

“What?!”

“I hereby sentence you to community service. Specifically, you will paint every bench in the town limits before you can leave.” Judge Vinik looks to Jake. “And he’s in your care, Officer Dotchin. No nights for you while he’s still here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great. I’ll have Caley file the paperwork and let Sheriff Yzerman know that you need to be covered for. We’re adjourned.” Vinik slaps his hand on his desk, standing and departing just as quietly as he came.

“What the fuck just happened here?” Yanni asks, blinking at Jake.

“That’s just how Judge Vinik does things.” Jake shrugs. “Come on, let’s get you some food and then we can get started this afternoon.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jake remembers it’s Friday and makes a quick detour to the taco truck that always sits just around the corner from the courthouse. He doubles his usual order and waits off to the side, watching Yanni sit in the passenger seat. His stomach drops when he realizes he left his keys in the ignition with an uncuffed criminal in the front. To get said criminal some tacos. God, this guy is going to get him fired.

“Jake!”

He grabs his order and rushes back to the cruiser, handing the bag over to Yanni.

“Uh, thanks.” Yanni unrolls the top and looks down at the tacos.

“It’s nothing,” Jake says, dismissive. He watches Yanni pull a little tinfoil wrapped taco from the bag and reorganize the contents of it into the center of the tortilla before making a little roll out of it.

A small smile blooms on his face at the action. He’s never seen anyone else eat a taco like that and a little bit of vindication warms his chest at all the people who have ever called him out on his taco-eating habits.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Yanni asks through a mouthful of food as Jake puts the car in drive.

“I will after we get back to the town square with the paint.” Mostly he doesn’t want Yanni to see him eating the same way, but he isn’t going to say that.

“Okay.” Yanni raises his taco to his mouth, but pauses, a sudden pained look crossing his face. “Where am I supposed to stay now? Still at the station?”

Jake doesn’t like his tone of voice one bit. “No, you heard the judge. You’re, uh, in my custody now.”

“So I’ll...be staying with you?”

It’s a terrible idea, actually. Jake lives alone in what can generously be called a one bedroom cottage at the edge of town. There’s really nowhere to put Yanni besides in his own bed, which is an even worse idea. But he’s already pretty much said, and well, his couch _is_ pretty comfortable. He’s been known to fall asleep anywhere. It’s only a few days. How long does it really take to paint a few benches? It’s fine. The only other option is the inn, and that’s pretty small and usually booked up weeks in advance for some event or another.

“Yeah, with me,” Jake agrees.

Yanni makes a little noncommittal noise, shoving the the last of his taco into his mouth right as Jake swings into a parking spot in front of the town storage building.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here,” Yanni replies, reaching into the bag to grab a second taco.

Jake heads into the storage area to gather the paint and some brushes. He is absolutely not thinking about sharing his house with Yanni. Or how he and Yanni share a little personality quirk, even if it’s as dumb as taco eating preferences, because it’s just a coincidence. It doesn’t mean anything. Lots of people do it where Yanni’s from, probably, and i--

Jake looks down at his chest.

“Just stop it, okay. Not with this one,” he tells his heart. He doesn’t have much hope that it will listen, but it’s worth a shot. Jake stops dallying about and gets the supplies into the trunk.

“I’m still hungry,” Yanni whines by way of greeting.

“Good thing I got an extra, then.” Jake grabs one of the tacos from his pile, holds it out to Yanni, who looks pleased as he takes it. “Hope you’re ready to spend the rest of the day painting.”

Yanni groans, mutters something in French. Jake just smiles at the road, turning towards the town square.

 

//

 

“I think that’s enough for today,” Jake says when Yanni finishes his fifth bench.

“There’s still some sun left.” Yanni squints the direction of the setting sun.

“Not enough time to finish a bench,” Jake counters. He holds up his phone. “I’ve been timing you for an average.”

“Oh.” Yanni frowns at the paint like it’s personally offended him.

Jake can’t help but smile at the action, but he quickly schools himself because Yanni isn’t his friend. “C’mon, let’s get out of here and I can show you where you’re staying.”

“Okay,” Yanni says before he starts cleaning up. Jake drops down to a knee to help him. And if he picks up what is probably more than his fair share to carry back? Well, it’s just because he doesn’t want to wait for Yanni to make extra trips.

  


“Right, so this is the room that you’ll be staying in,” Jake says, opening his bedroom door. He’s never been prouder that he cleans up after himself well enough, that there isn’t any dirty underwear laying around.

Yanni isn’t all that impressed, if the look on his face is any indicator.

“I know It’s not a lot, but it’s home.” He rubs the back of his neck self-consciously. “Anyways, I’ve been in this uniform for like eighteen hours, so I’m gonna hop in the shower real quick.”

“Okay, sure, I will...do something while you are in the shower,” Yanni replies, something in his tone making Jake take pause.

He smiles, though, wanting to be a good host. “I have satellite, so maybe you can find something on tv?” he tries.

Yanni drops onto the near corner of the couch and grabs the remote, looking comfortable. Jake’s not sure why he’s suddenly hesitant to leave Yanni alone with his priciest electronic but the call of his shower after such a long shift is just too strong.

Yanni will be fine.

 

//

 

The living room in unexpectedly quiet when Jake steps out of the bathroom, steam escaping out behind him. He thinks at first that maybe Yanni is in the bedroom, taking a nap maybe? He knocks gently and lets himself in when he gets no response but the room is empty. He quickly realizes none of Yanni’s stuff is on the bed and his heart drops. He scrambles back out to the living room.

The front door is hanging open.

“I am so stupid,” he mutters to himself, running his fingers into his damp hair and squeezing. Of course the guy took off. What else would he do when left alone? “I am so freaking _fired_ , I can’t even believe I thought I could do this. What is even wrong with me?”

He thinks about going after Yanni, but knows it would be futile. He has no idea where Yanni went, how long ago he left. He could be anywhere by now.

Jake knows he should call it in, have someone start the paperwork for _absconded from police custody_ but he’s not ready to face the music quite yet, doesn’t want to hear Teddy laugh at him.

He sinks into his dining room chair and bangs his head softly against the table. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Jake startles at the sound of his screen door squeaking, snapping his head up. He doesn’t know who he’s expecting to see standing in the doorway but it’s definitely not Yanni. There he is though, managing to somehow look sheepish.

Jake’s mouth gapes as he tries to form words, relief washing over him. A breeze blows in from behind Yanni, tousling his hair and it’s too much.

“Why...w-what made you come back?” Jake asks, his voice cracking on the last word.

Yanni swallows slowly, the sight of his adam’s apple bobbing distracting. “I...don’t. I’m not...I’m here, okay?”

Jake chews on his bottom lip, debates taking him back to the cell really hard for a minute, but he can’t. He just can’t. Jake stands with a sigh, still a little shaky with panic and adrenaline. “That’s not a real answer but, fine.”

Yanni doesn’t make a move to come anymore inside, instead he stays where he is, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Shut the door before you let all the flies in.” 

Yanni looks like he’s going to object for all of ten seconds before relenting. The spring and smack of the screen is loud in the quiet of the house.

“Bathroom’s free if you wanted to, uh, shower or whatever. I can see about getting some dinner together.”

Yanni just nods and slinks away, the hiss of the shower coming moments later. 

Jake goes to the fridge, opening it and the freezer at the same time. All he has is some frozen dinners and a few take out boxes. One of the drawers has an unopened package of baby carrots. It’s a sad showing, even for him.

“So what’s for dinner?” Yanni’s voice startles him.

The guy must take the quickest showers ever. Jake turns to find Yanni standing in the space between the bathroom and the bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel that’s wrapped loosely around his hips. Jake doesn’t mean for his eyes to wander, but they do, slipping right down the ridges of his bare chest and stomach.

His cheeks heat as he swallows, looking back up at Yanni’s face, which is looking more than just a bit smug. He has to do something to get control back. “Get dressed, we’re going out for dinner.”

Yanni’s mouth ticks up in the corner before he disappears into the bedroom.

 

//

 

Jake fleetingly debates enforcing his authority after Yanni’s escape attempt to make him ride in the back of the cruiser, but ultimately lets him slip into the passenger seat. There’s only a couple of good places to eat in town, and Jake’s pretty much already covered them all, but he’s really craving a reuben.

Big Number 9 Diner is just outside the center of town and always busy. When Jake pulls in, there’s only a couple spots left in the lot. He really hopes they don’t have to wait for a table.

“And who is this?” Ms. Witty asks the moment they walk through the double glass doors. “A date?” She looks positively gleeful.

“Table for two, please, ma’am,” Jake replies pointedly.

“A table?” She tuts at them. “I’m sure you mean a booth, right?” Her smile is bright, dazzling even, and Jake is starting to regret his decision to bring Yanni here. He should have gotten take out.

“Whatever is free,” he manages.

She cocks her head at them, absolutely ready to say something else, but she visibly changes her mind. She gathers up a few menus and two rolls of silverware.“Right this way, boys.”

She weaves through the rows of tables and places them in a booth along the far wall, because of course she does. “What can I get you boys to drink?”

“I’ll have a coke,” Yanni replies.

“Coffee, thanks, Ms. Witty.”

“Of course, pumpkin,” she says, leaving to fill their order.

“Ms. Witty? Pumpkin?” Yanni asks.

“She’s married to my pal Witty. His name’s Luke, but we’ve called him Witty for so long that it’d be weird to call her by his full last name.” Jake busies himself studying the menu.

“Okay, but what about pumpkin?”

“It’s just what my ma calls me,” he mutters, not looking up.

“She isn’t your mom,” Yanni counters, indicating in Ms. Witty’s general direction.

“Yeah, well, sometimes these things stick,” Jake replies, trying not to let a whine creep into his voice. He would love to stop talking about this.

“You know, my last name is Gourde.”

“Yeah, I saw your license and filled out the report on you.” Jake looks away and over at the counter and wishes he had something to fiddle with.

“Oh, Jacob.” Yanni sounds amused.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He’s smiling, so it’s definitely not _nothing_.

Ms. Witty returns with their drinks and Jake’s never been so relieved to see a mug of coffee. “So, what’ll it be?” she asks, pulling out her little notepad.

“I’ll have the reuben.” Jake slides the menu towards the table edge. “Fries, no coleslaw.”

“Mmm. And for you, dear?”

“Can I just have the chef salad, please, Ms…” Yanni squints in the direction of her nametag. “Molly.”

“Of course, sweetie.” She scribbles a few notes. “What dressing?”

“Italian, on the side.”

She heads off; Jake watches her place their ticket on the order wheel as he rotely stirs one cream and one sugar into his coffee.

“Isn’t it sort of late for coffee?”

Jake looks up at Yanni, who seems to be schooling his face around some emotion. Jake’s good enough to read that, but not good enough to pick up the actual emotion. He sighs, wishing he was better at things like that. Maybe he wouldn’t still be stuck on--oh, right.

“Normally I work nights. It’s how we met, you know.” He realizes that he sounds like he’s flirting with Yanni, talking about how they met like Yanni had some choice in the matter, which he absolutely should not be doing and now he’s fighting off another blush. Ugh.

“Oh, right, yeah.” Yanni cocks a half-grin. “I remember.”

Jake’s definitely staring again when Yanni’s foot brushes up against his under the table. He’s quick to jump away.

“Sorry, I, um, I have really long legs and forget to leave room sometimes.” Jake tucks his feet up under the bench he’s sitting on. “Anyways, staying awake all day isn’t so easy for me.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be,” Yanni agrees. He’s still watching Jake, which is quite discomforting. Jake isn’t sure what to say or do, but Yanni’s already opening his mouth to continue. “What’s the longest you have stayed up?” 

Jake considers the question, thinks he’s probably pushing his limit at this very moment, but then Ms. Witty arrives with their dinner and all he can think about is how hungry he is.

Jake leans in, taking a deep inhale over his food. He knows that he doesn’t have a lot to compare it to, but Steve really does make the best reuben that he’s ever had. He picks one half up, ready to take a bite when he notices the way that Yanni is looking at his salad. “What’s wrong?”

“This is the whole salad?” Yanni asks.

Jake studies it and, well, he doesn’t know a lot about chef salads but he does think that maybe they usually have more than lettuce, carrots, and a few slices of cucumber.

“I don’t think that many people order salad from here,” Jake replies honestly. He’s unable to stop the soft laugh that spills out at Yanni’s look of disgust.

He pushes his plate towards Yanni. “Here, we can split.”

“Are you sure?” Yanni hesitates when he reaches for a fry.

“Yeah, of course.” Jake offers Yanni what he hopes is a kind smile. “We’ll stop at the general store and get you a better selections of veggies, if that’s what you’d like.”

“Thanks,” Yanni says shyly, picking up the other half of the sandwich and taking a bite.

Jake’s never been good with silence and he only makes it halfway through his meal before prompting, “So, tell me about where you’re from.”

“Originally, or now?” Yanni asks, tucking a piece of corned beef into his mouth.

“Are you from someplace other than what your license says?”

Yanni looks ready to laugh, so Jake doesn’t even want to know what he looks like right now. “No, that’s where I’m from, but I also have a place in St. Louis.”

“Why’d you give me a Quebec license then?”

“It was the first one I got?” Yanni shrugs, laughs a bit. “Neither is expired; it doesn’t matter.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“No, I know,” Yanni sobers, grabs a fry. He points at Jake with it. “What made you want to become a policeman?”

“Well, my pa was sheriff when I was little,” Jake uses his napkin to wipe the grease off of his hands after his last bite. He pushes the plate the rest of the way across the table. “And I always wanted to do good like he did, so now I do. Or, try to anyway.”

“That’s nice,” Yanni says. It could sound patronizing, definitely has in the past, but Yanni actually sounds like he means it. Plus there’s a small smile on his lips, which is just--

Nope.

“What made you move to St. Louis?” Jake asks, mostly to distract himself.

“It’s going to sound crazy.”

“Sometimes crazy’s the best reason,” Jake replies with a half grin.

“It was as close as I could get to the middle of the country without being in nowhere.”

Jake can’t really argue with that but, “That doesn’t really sound crazy.” He shrugs. “Crazy would be something like ‘I was in that city once and someone smiled at me so I moved there to find my true love’.” Otherwise known as _what he would probably do if he ever visited a big city_.

Yanni laughs, which makes Jake’s heart feel fuzzy again. “It’s crazier when you realize I didn’t have a job or a place to stay set up. I just showed up there.”

“That’s actually really impressive.”

Yanni ducks his chin and smiles at the empty plate in front of him. Jake does his best to ignore the stupid thing his stomach is doing and suggests that they should head home.

Something in Yanni’s face softens further, and that’s when Jake realizes he referred to his house as home for the two of them. Damn it.

“Yeah, we should pay,” Yanni says, reaching for his wallet.

“Nah, it’s already taken care of,” Jake says, tossing his napkin on table as he stands to stretch. His back and neck both pop a couple of times, and that’s _so much_ better.

“What? How?”

“Small town secrets,” Jake teases.

Yanni looks adorably confused.

There’s no way that Yanni hasn’t ever heard of running a tab but Jake’s enjoying having Yanni a little wrong-footed for once. “C’mon, budge up, lazy. We have an early morning tomorrow.”

Jake calls back to Steve as they head for the exit, thanking him for dinner. He pops his head out the window and gives a little wave before disappearing back into the kitchen. Ms Witty is waiting for them by the front door.

“You boys be careful now,” she says with that knowing smile of hers. Which is just so, so wrong.

“Good night, Ms. Witty,” Jake says firmly.

“It was nice to meet you, Ms. Molly,” Yanni adds.

“Hope to see you around more, sugar,” she replies.  


Jake rubs his eyes once he settles back into the cruiser.

“You seem sort of tired, should I…?” Yanni trails off, and Jake thinks he realizes that he can’t actually drive the police cruiser.

“I’m fine, it’s just across town,” Jake answers, starting the car.

Yanni talks his ear off all the way home, about what, Jake can’t really say. But, there’s something about his voice that Jake really likes, even if he can’t exactly put his finger on what that something is.

He definitely appreciates the effort.

“Do you need me to wake you up in the morning?” Jake asks around a yawn once they’re back at the house.

“Yeah, if it isn’t too much trouble,” Yanni replies.

“No, it’s no problem.”

Yanni crosses to the bathroom while Jake walks over to his safe to double check that his gun is secure. He knows that it is, really, but it’s habit. He’d feel weird going to sleep without doing it.

“I’m heading to bed,” Yanni says, and Jake didn’t even realize that he was mostly zoning out while waiting for his turn. He shakes his head, blinks a couple of times to wake himself up.

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning,” Jake says.

“Goodnight, Jacob.” Yanni disappears through the bedroom door, closing it softly.

Jake decides that he doesn’t care about brushing his teeth and instead all but collapses on the couch. He pulls his nan’s quilt down and is asleep before he even has time to feel it settle around him.

 

//

 

Yanni is already sitting on the bed waiting when Jake knocks on the door in the morning.

“I thought you said that you needed me to wake you.”

“I thought I did,” Yanni says with a shrug. “But some loud birds outside woke me up before you had the chance.”

“That’s...fair enough.” Jake doesn’t laugh, but it’s a close thing. “Why don’t you get ready and I’ll make us some toast.”

“Okay.” Yanni bounces up off the bed. It’s all sorts of cute and endearing, and Jake just really needs to go busy himself with breakfast now.

“Here, take this,” Jake says, passing over the map of benches they still have to paint. “Pick one I haven’t crossed off.”

“We still have to do the whole park.”

Jake turns off Main street and heads that way, taking the shortcut past the library. It’s a gorgeous day, all sunshine and baby blue sky. He’s kind of glad they’re going to get to be out in it.

“Really?” Yanni snaps, pressing the button on the door repeatedly. “Window locks?”

Jake smiles. “It’s policy. For the bad guys in the backseat.”

“I’m not _in_ the back.” 

“You’re not going to throw yourself out the window if I unlock it, right?”

Yanni gives him the unimpressed face he deserves.

“Okay.” The breeze is nice, especially the way it tousles through Yanni’s hair. He knows he’s not supposed to think those kind of things about people he doesn’t know, people like Yanni who he won’t _ever_ know, but his heart hijacked his brain a long time ago.

He can let himself pretend for a little while.

 

 

There’s plenty of open spots at the park and Jake picks the one right under a tree. “You wanna grab the paint?” he asks, opening the trunk.

Yanni does as he asks, carrying the tins over to the first bench and popping the lid off one to reveal the dark green paint.

“Practically an expert now, eh?” Jake asks, dropping the few brushes they have in the grass next to him.

“Oh yes. What a useful skill I am learning.” He dips a brush in the paint and carelessly slaps it on the bench.

Jake lays down in the nearest patch of sunlight, basks in it a little. “Let me know when you’re done with this one.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Yanni does not tell him when he’s done and Jake only panics for a second when he opens his eyes to find a freshly painted bench and nothing else. He’s quick to his feet but spots Yanni two benches down, breathing a sigh of relief.

Yanni’s crouched around back, painting the slats, and Jake decides it might be funny to sneak up on him. He takes a wide path to stay out of his peripheral vision, creeping up on him from behind.

“It’s about time you woke up,” Yanni says, calmly dipping his brush back in the paint can.

Jake deflates when he fails to startle Yanni at all. “The sun, uh, tends to do that to me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You should have woken me up.”

“I should have stolen your keys and left you here with the paint. I could be halfway to Tulsa by now.”

Jake scoffs. “I wasn’t asleep _that_ long.”

Yanni smiles. “Yeah, but I should be in Tulsa today.”

“What’s happening there?” Jake asks, sitting back down in the grass.

“American Idol is there. I was planning to audition.”

“You sing?”

Yanni shrugs. “I like to think so.”

Jake feels the guilt churn in his belly. He could have just let Yanni go with a warning, or even a ticket. He didn’t need to arrest him and get him saddled with community service.

Well, he did. But. “I’m sorry.”

“Hm?”

“For making you miss your audition.”

“You were just doing your job,” he says. “I was mad at first. But it is not very often you come across a cop like you. A person like you.” He goes back to painting. “There’s an audition in Dallas next week. It’s not too far of a drive.”

“Oh good. I’m...I’m glad.” Jake twists a few blades of grass around his fingers and pulls.

“Don’t look like that.”

Jake looks up, finds Yanni watching him. His eyes are bright and much more pale green than the darker shade Jake thought they were. He wonders if it’s just the park and the paint playing tricks on him. “Like what?”

“Like you’re guilty.”

Ma always did say he wore his feelings all over his face. “Okay.”

Yanni finishes the last of the bench and sets his brush on the paint can. “Only two left now, right?”

“Three,” he says, scanning the park. “There’s one hidden behind the big tree over there.”

“I think this town has too many benches.”

That gets Jake to smile. “It has the perfect amount of benches.”

Yanni rolls his eyes and picks up his paint. “You only think that because you’ve never had to paint them all.”

“You’re right,” he says, following Yanni to the next bench. “I have to supervise the guy who does, though, which isn’t all that great. He’s a bit of a complainer.”

“I heard he’s an angel.”

“Your source sounds like a liar,” Jake says, laughing.

He isn’t fast enough when Yanni comes at him with green-tipped fingers, smearing paint along his jaw and down his neck. He grabs Yanni’s wrist but the damage is already done. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“How? You going to make me paint more benches?”

“There’s all kinds of things you could paint in this town.” Jake grabs for the paintbrush still resting on top of the can and brandishes it like a sword.

Yanni seems to consider his options before giving in. “Truce?”

And yeah, Jake shouldn’t have retaliated in the first place. He nearly managed to forget that Yanni is here because he has to be, not because he wants to be. “Truce.”

He leans down to place the brush back on the paint and gets a little bit on his finger. In one last moment of weakness, he dots the wet paint on the tip of Yanni’s nose.

Yanni, for his part, stands there stunned.

“I...slipped?” Jake feigns innocence, wiping the rest of the paint off on his pants.

“I know where you sleep.”

Jake’s confident he could take Yanni, if it came to that.

//

 

Jake can feel the tightness of his skin across the bridge of his nose as they get back to his place, the beginnings of a sunburn settling there. Yanni looks a little pink around his ears, the back his neck a similar color.

He really should have considered sunscreen.

“Is it okay if I…” Yanni tosses a thumb over his shoulder toward the bathroom.

“Oh yeah, sure. I’ll just...”

Yanni smiles. “Okay.”

Jake is quick to grab some clothes from his room while Yanni’s preoccupied, careful not to bother any of his things he’s got strewn about the room.

And Jake thought _he_ was messy. Geez.

Settling himself and the clothes on the couch, Jake flicks on the TV and flips through the channels, eventually settling on the Food Network.

The first competitor has barely been eliminated when Yanni steps back out of the bathroom, freshly showered. “All yours.”

They swap places and Jake hesitates for a moment by the bathroom door, looking over at where Yanni has settled on the couch, seemingly fine with watching Chopped.

Jake knows that Yanni came back and probably isn’t going to take off again if left alone, but-

“I’m not going anywhere, if that’s what you’re worrying so loudly about over there.” Yanni turns on the couch, gets up on his knees. He’s smirking when he adds, “You’re stuck with me now.”

“I-I wasn’t-”

“You were, but I understand.” Yanni waves a dismissive hand. “I mean, I deserve it, so.”

“I’ll just be a few minutes,” Jake says.

“And I’ll be waiting for you, right here.”

Jake turns to the door, hoping Yanni didn’t have time to see his blush.

His body is inappropriately interested in Yanni’s words, though, and no amount of ignoring it while he’s washes changes that. Jake sighs, turing the water over to cold, because that’s just not on the table tonight. Or like, ever.

He makes it as quick as he promised, the mirror barely having time to fog up again before he’s towling himself off and fighting to get his jeans up over his still damp legs.

“Is there nothing to do here?” Yanni asks, sprawled out along the couch when Jake steps into the living room, flipping channels. “Besides paint benches, I mean.”

Jake shrugs, tugging the sleeve of his black v-neck down over his bicep. “I guess most of the guys’ll be at the drive-in. It’s date night.”

Yanni lights up. “The guys?”

“They’re all idiots but, uh, they’re alright.”

“They sound charming.”

“You’re on house arrest,” Jake tries, coming around to sink down next to Yanni on the couch.

“Hm?” Yanni hums, seemingly distracted by something in the center of Jake’s chest.

“Do I have toothpaste on my shirt or?”

“What?” Yanni blinks, sitting back a little from where he had leaned in. “No. Sorry, what?”

“I said, you’re on house arrest.” Yanni actually isn’t, if Jake’s being honest, but it’s the best excuse he could come up with. He doesn’t know if he can handle date night right now. Especially not with Yanni.

“Am I really, though?” Yanni jiggles his ankle at him. “I don’t have a little bracelet and even Martha Stewart had one of those! Take me to the movies, Jacob. Please.”

He pouts a little and Jake hates it. “You’ve probably already seen the movie that’s showing,” he says. “We get ‘em like, a year late.”

Yanni huffs. “No one goes to the drive-in to actually watch the movie.”

“I do!” Jake tries to find something patronizing in the smile that blooms on Yanni’s face at his answer, but he can’t.

“Even more reason to go, then! Get up, put on your boots. Tell the boys you are coming.”

“We’ll have to stop by the station and grab my truck.” There is no way he’s taking the cruiser to the drive-in.

“Fine with me, I’ve wanted to ride in it since I first saw it.”

“What? When did you see it?” Jake asks, confused.

“You literally look at it with heart eyes every time we get into the cruiser and leave it behind, so it wasn’t that hard to work out which one was yours. Now c’mon.”

He lets Yanni tug him back to his feet and does as he’s told, texting Slater to save him a spot. He grabs a ballcap from the back of the bathroom door and smooths it over the towel-dried mess he calls hair when he gets a reply:

 

_Sorry, we’re staying in tonight. Maybe next time!_

_Try Adam_

 

Jake frowns but texts Pudge on his way out the door.

 

_Of course!_

_Wait. You bringing a date?_

 

 _No it’s just a person,_ he types back before getting into the driver’s seat.

“Hey, I like your hat,” Yanni says, already buckled in and ready to go.

“Thanks, uh, my friend Slater got it for me.” He looks over at Yanni, raising his eyebrows at the frown on his face. “What?”

Yanni shakes his head and looks away as Jake fumbles his key into the ignition. He takes a moment to try and prepare himself for the upcoming shitshow before pulling out onto the main road.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake spots Pudge’s hoity toity silver Chevy and easily backs into the spot in front of him. The guys swarm before he even gets out of the cab.

“I’m just gonna...take care of this,” he tells Yanni. “And get some popcorn.”

“Your friends don’t scare me.”

“They’re just…” He sighs. “They’re gonna be embarrassing.”

Yanni rolls down his window as Jake steps down to face the jury.

“So, who’s the guy?” Connor asks, rocking up on his toes like he could get a glimpse of him.

“Just a guy.”

“It’s never just a guy with you,” Pudge adds. “What’s his name? Where’d you meet? How long have you been in love with him?”

“Does he _know_ you’re in in love with him?” Connor asks with a smirk.

Jake wants to pull his hair out. “He’s just, uh, staying for the weekend. Or a little longer. It depends on how long his...work takes.” Jake ignores the crap about love entirely, but he does feel his cheeks heat.

“What’s he do?” Carter pipes up to ask.

_He sings._ “He’s a contractor.”

They all seem impressed enough with that, shutting up long enough for Jake to make a break for it. “Don’t be fucking weird about him, okay?” he says, before heading for the snack stand.

There’s a small line of pretty girls in flower dresses holding hands with cowboys in their nicest boots, a pair of guys in flannel leaning close to decide what they want at the very front. Jake feels lame standing there alone. He considers turning around and driving Yanni away from all this but someone gets in line behind him and now he’s stuck.

“Yeah, uh, one large popcorn and a pack of gummy bears, please,” he says when he gets to the front of the line, nodding at Mitch, the usual guy behind the counter. “And a cherry coke.”

“I’ve got the bears!” Jake didn’t even notice Steve’s little brother sitting in the back and he startles when the kid jumps up to grab the candy, leaving his own box of M&Ms behind.

“Hey, thanks.” Mitch smiles, accepting the gummy bears with a fist bump before turning back towards Jake. There’s something extra in his smile now, something soft around his eyes, and Jake feels like the he’s bragging, like he’s saying _look at my boyfriend helping me out at work, what a guy!_ as he hands Jake his change. He grabs his purchases quickly and escapes back to the cluster of trucks.

“Nothing for me?” Yanni asks with a pout, once Jake’s settled back in the cab.

“Can you open the cu--.”

Yanni pulls out the cup holder and settles the drink into it.

“And I got the big one so we can share.” He props the popcorn on the console between them and tosses the gummy bears on the dash.

“Hey so quick question,” Connor says, popping up into Jake’s window.

“What the fuck,” Jake hisses, just barely not clutching his chest in fright.

“Pudge wants to know why you’re being weird and so do I.”

“Look, the movie’s about to start,” Jake tries. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Dude, no one watches the movie.”

“I told you!” Yanni pipes in, leaning forward so he can fist bump Connor. 

Jake reaches up to open the gummy bears, shoving a handful in his mouth. They’re stale.

“Where’d you get that funky accent from, eh?” Connor asks, still standing on the toolbox he probably got out of the back of Pudge’s truck.

“Why don’t you shut up about it!” Jake snaps. “You think we don’t sound weird to him?”

“My dude,” Connor says, calmly. “I was just trying to make conversation. No need to get offended.”

“Well it was rude. Your ma raised you better than that.”

“You’ve met my mama,” Connor laughs. “She’s nosy just the same.”

“I’m from Quebec,” Yanni blurts. “Just to clear that up.”

“Oh cool! Slater got himself a Canadian boyfriend, too! Well, Canada via St. Louis but sti--”

Connor keeps talking, but the noise sort of whites out for Jake when the words _St. Louis_ hit him. It makes him think back to what Slater told him about meeting Braydon, how Cory came from there for Pudge, too. How Yanni has a place there.

He can’t help but wonder for just a moment if the coincidences everyone always talks about are something more. If the impossible has happened and Yanni ended up here for him. If Yanni could ever really want him.

And then reality splashes over him like a bucket of cold water. There’s no one coming for him, and even if there was, well, he’s not lucky enough for it to be someone like Yanni.

Jake blinks the thoughts away, pops open his door to shut Connor up and force him to step down from the toolbox. “Sorry about him.”

Yanni’s hiding his laughter in the popcorn.

“Isn’t Anna here? Go bother her.” Jake can’t see Connor’s truck from where he is but he’s sure Anna’s probably sitting on the tailgate, scrolling through her phone.

“Okay, crabby. I surrender.” Connor picks up the toolbox and heads back toward his own truck.

The previews have already started playing and Jake’s only minorly annoyed that he missed the first couple.

“Why do they think I’m your boyfriend?” Yanni asks.

“Because it’s date night.”

“Is that a rule?”

And now Jake’s getting annoyed at Yanni, which is the last thing he wants to do. “It’s just been a thing since high school that they all carried on.”

“You’ve known each other your whole lives, haven’t you.” Yanni doesn’t phrase it as a question.

Jake shrugs. “Pretty much.”

“I think that’s nice,” he says, the h’s getting lost in his accent.

The last of the headlights click off as the opening credits of the movie start. Jake settles in, chewing on a few more of the stale gummy bears. He reaches for the popcorn, only to find it in Yanni’s lap.

“Here,” Yanni says, shifting around and lifting up the center console and oh. Yanni slides over and presses himself up against Jake’s side, popcorn still in his lap. “Now we can both reach.”

“It was fine on the console,” Jake says, trying not to be overwhelmed by Yanni’s warmth along his side.

“Yeah, but it’s date night.”

Jake’s traitorous heart drags his brain down to its level, spinning imaginary tales of how amazing it would be if this was a date. If St. Louis had sent Yanni here, if he’d brought Yanni to meet the guys as his actual boyfriend.

They could have brought blankets and pillows and laid down in the bed of his truck, watching the sunset before the movie got started, arms wrapped around each other. Jake would have worn his nice boots and the belt Tye got him from Phoenix with the fancy turquoise buckle.

Maybe they wouldn’t even care about the movie, like Connor said.

Yanni casually grabs a few gummies from the bag in Jake’s hand, tossing the green ones back. “Move your…” He elbows Jake’s arm. “It’s pokey.”

So Jake lifts his arm and Yanni slips even closer, tucking right up against him with his head settling gently onto Jake’s chest, and Jake just keeps holding his arm in the air. Because the only other thing he can do is wrap it around Yanni’s shoulders and that’s, this isn’t --

It’s already too much.

“You’re weird,” Yanni mumbles, grabbing Jake’s arm from the air and dropping it around him.

Jake doesn’t breathe for a solid thirty seconds, totally clueless as to what to do with a guy like Yanni in his arms. He decides to give in to his heart (and all the romcoms he’s watched with Slater over the years) and tilts his head down so the tip of his nose is buried in the top of Yanni’s curls.

He smells like Jake’s shampoo and it warms Jake’s entire chest.

He’s going to have to watch this movie over again unless he can concentrate soon. It’s all robots and space and blowing things up and it’s really easy to follow, but it’s the principle of the matter.

They’ve been quiet for close to twenty minutes, and Jake is starting to relax into the warmth of Yanni up against him, when Yanni suddenly tips his face up from the spot on Jake’s chest and asks, “What sort of name is Pudge?”

“It’s a nickname,” Jake answers through startled laugher.

“Okay, but what does it mean?”

“He was chubby when he was younger, so his ma used to call him Pudgey. It got shortened to Pudge over time.”

Yanni pulls his mouth to the side, looks thoughtful. “Why is he still called that now? He isn’t...chubby?” Yanni doesn’t look like he’s sure of the word, which is honestly adorable.

“He isn’t, now it’s just silly, or, what’s the word? Ironic.” Jake pauses, frowns. “Most of us came out the other side of our unpleasant phase glowing.”

“Oh, I can believe that.” Yanni has this dreamy look in his eyes.

Jake sighs. “Connor’s been with Anna for like ten years, just so you know.”

“I wasn’t talking about him.” Yanni shakes his head.

“Oh. Well, Pudge is taken, too. Sorry.”

Yanni huffs and reaches for the gummy bears again while Jake turns his attention back to the movie.

Great. It looks like he missed something really important.

  
  


“Okay so really,” Carter says, rising to eye-level next to the truck as the credits start to roll. “You have to give us something.”

Pudge and Connor are both leaned up against his truck, visible in the side-view mirror.

“It’s nothi-- just drop it.”

“We saw y’all cuddling,” Pudge accuses. “I’m not blind.”

“It was for the popco--.”

“Hi, I’m Carter,” he interrupts, leaning into Jake’s window to extend a hand to Yanni.

“Yanni.”

Jake withers.

“How’d you two meet?” Carter continues. “Jakey never keeps things like this so close to his chest. He’s more of a ‘heart-on-his-sleeve’ kind of cowboy.”

He can see Yanni look to him out of the corner of his eye, silently asking him to jump in, but he just can’t. He can’t.

“Um, well,” Yanni starts. “I was doing, I think it was 101, out on highway 60 late Thursday night and Jacob pulled me over. I was going so fast he had to arrest me! Tried to get him to let me off with a warning but, well, he’s very good at his job. We spent a lovely evening in the police station together - that was probably our first date, I would say, right, pumpkin?”

Jake tries to smile, to play along but his stomach sours at the ease of the nickname rolling off Yanni’s tongue. He’s quite a performer.

“And then he took me to the diner with the good food, Number Nine, right?”

“Ha!” Pudge shouts. “I told you that was the same guy!”

Jake’s cheeks flame up at the realization that the guys have _already_ been talking about him and Yanni.

“He has been doing such a good job keeping me in line while I serve out my sentence,” Yanni continues to ramble. “I softened him up tonight, though. Made him take me somewhere fun finally.”

Carter’s face slowly breaks into pure joy and Jake braces for it.

“Whoa, whoa, wait. You’re tellin’ me you’re so hard up for a date you had to _arrest_ somebody!?” Carter laughs, loud and full-bellied and Jake wants to curl up in a hole.

“Hey don’t laugh,” Pudge says, clearly laughing. “That’ll be a great story to tell everybody at the wedding.”

“A real life cops and robbers love story!” Connor adds.

“I have never stolen anything in my whole life!” Yanni insists, leaning further over Jake’s lap to make sure Connor hears him.

“Okay, okay,” Jake says, trying to pull Yanni back into the truck. “That’s enough. Any other riveting questions, or can we go?”

Carter relents, stepping down and back, and Jake starts his truck to join the few other cars making their way toward the exit.

 

“Your friends are silly,” Yanni says once they make it to the main road.

“I wish you hadn’t done that.”

Yanni scoffs. “It was all in good fun. You could have jumped in at any time. I didn’t know what else to say!”

And Jake has tolerated jokes at his expense for years - his whole life, practically - and eventually the good-natured ribbing gets tiring. Eventually it doesn’t much feel like a joke anymore. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He turns up the radio and tries not to replay the whole night over again. He tries not to think about just going back to the beginning and saying no to Yanni to avoid the whole lot of embarrassment.

Yanni grabs the gummy bear bag, crinkling the plastic as he picks out the red ones, and Jake is thrown back to the way it felt to have Yanni in his arms. How easy it felt to hold the bag for him as he searched out the color he wanted.

“Are you hungry?” he asks, eyeing the gas station with the good fried chicken.

“A little.”

He pulls in and leaves the truck running as he grabs a box of chicken and the morning’s leftover biscuits.

“I could have paid,” Yanni says, holding the food on his lap.

“It’s no problem.”

The rest of the ride is quiet, save for the radio, and Jake unclenches himself a bit. Someone has mowed their grass today and the smell of it curling in through his open window helps cut the last of his strings.

“Come inside before you fall asleep,” Yanni says once he’s parked in the driveway.

He follows Yanni up the walk, kicking off his boots just inside. Yanni’s making noise in the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets until he finds what he’s looking for.

Jake slumps onto the couch, rubs at his eyes.

“I made you a plate.”

He’s not even hungry, if he’s being honest. But he takes the plate and scoots over so there’s room for Yanni to sit, too. He picks at the piece of chicken in front of him, mostly just eating the crispy bits of skin.

“Thank you for today,” Yanni says, wiping his fingers off on a paper towel.

Jake shrugs.

“Tonight was nice.”

And Jake isn’t paying that much attention, so Yanni gets very close before he catches him, lifts a hand to Jake’s chin to turn him and ---

“Whoa,” Jake says, putting his whole hand on Yanni’s face to stop his forward momentum. “W-what are you doing?”

“Kissing you,” Yanni answers, muffled by Jake’s hand.

Jake’s heart twists into a knot. “There’s no one here to see us. You don’t have to keep...just, no. Don’t do that.”

Yanni’s face falls and he sits back. “Okay.” 

“I’m sorry, I…”

“No, it’s…” Yanni picks up his plate, nothing but bones left. “I should sleep.”

Jake doesn’t say anything, just stays sitting on the couch as Yanni throws his trash away and heads to his room. He prays that Yanni will get through the rest of the benches tomorrow.

It’ll be good to get back to normal. To forget that these few days ever happened.

 

//

 

Jake rises as soon as he wakes up in the morning, mindlessly folding his sheet before putting it and his pillow in the closet. He stretches and feels the pull of his lower back: the couch is starting to get to him. “Dang it.”

He’s just finishing up some quick oats on the stove when Yanni emerges from the bedroom. He splits the pot into two bowls and offers one to Yanni, still looking sleep soft.

The silence while they eat is stifling; the car ride into town is even worse. Jake spends the whole trip staring too hard at the roads he knows by heart, but talking about anything that happened last night is the last thing he wants to do.

He doesn’t entertain Yanni by letting him pick which bench to start with this time, just pulls into a spot by one that still needs a fresh coat of paint. Jake gets out of the cruiser, circling to the trunk so he can gather the the paint and supplies. He hands them to Yanni wordlessly.

Jake feels more awkward than usual, so he just stands there with his arms crossed as Yanni gets to work. He hopes he looks like he’s supervising and not just doing his best impersonation of ‘cop glaring over the scene’ when that fancy car of Braydon’s pulls into the empty spot next to his cruiser.

“Are you trying to impress us today, Braydon?” Jake calls as soon as Braydon steps out of the car.

“Nah, it’s just easier to avoid all the potholes during the day.” Braydon smiles easily. “Have to let the horses run sometimes, right?”

Jake laughs at the unexpected, if poorly delivered, local jargon. “I suppose you do. So, what brings the likes of you into town on a Sunday?”

“Just picking up a halter I ordered for Nosey from the general store.” Braydon’s eyes fall to Yanni and he grins a little wider.

Jake’s stomach drops because he just _knows_ that Pudge said something to them.

“Hey, after he’s done here, can he paint mine over by the lake too?”

Jake is relieved to hear that question and not something else.“Your bench? You’ve really put down roots now, huh?” Jake smiles. He’s so happy for Slater, who has always been like a brother to him.

Braydon sighs and his eyes get this dreamy, far-away look.“Yeah, and they go deep.”

Jake shakes his head. “Go on, before your boy gets’ta missin’ ya.”

“Yeah, see you later, Jake.” Braydon gives him a little wave and heads towards the store.

“Okay, so that must be the Canadian,” Yanni says after a moment.

Jake is startled into laughter again. “Yup that’s him. Hey, let’s take a break. I’ll get you a pop.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Yanni replies, easily dropping his brush back into the paint and abandoning his work for the convenience store on the corner.

 

//

 

Jake loves the way evening sounds - the buzz of crickets and gnats and fireflies, the hum of everything settling in for the night. He doesn’t have much of a porch and Yanni finds him sprawled out in the grass by the little tree he planted a couple years ago. Jake’s heart skips a beat at the sight of Yanni toweling off his hair, smiling.

“I found this in the dresser?” he indicates to the shirt he’s wearing. “I hope it is okay to borrow.”

Yeah, Jake’s going to need to breathe soon but Yanni in his clothes might just be the thing that does him in. “Yeah, no. It’s fine.”

Yanni drapes his towel over the porch railing before resting his elbows on it, looking down on Jake where he lays. “You going to be down there a while?”

“The sunset’s nice out here.”

“Okay.”

Yanni disappears then and Jake hears the creak and snap of the screen door. A firefly dips low, almost close enough to touch and he watches it twinkle in the fading sunlight. It lands on one of the clover blooms, tail blinking.

He startles when a bottle of beer drops into his line of vision.

“Cheers,” Yanni says, clinking his own bottle against Jake’s.

He’s surprised again when he sits up and sees the guitar propped up on the porch stairs. He takes a long swig of his beer. “You play?”

Yanni scoffs, setting his bottle on the porch ledge and picking up his guitar. He strums a few chords, leaning over to watch his fingers on the frets so his wet curls fall around his ears and over his forehead.

It’s perfect, Jake thinks. Just absolutely, unbelievably perfect.

“Any requests?” Yanni asks, soft curve of a smile on his lips.

“Hm. How ‘bout Wonderwall?”

Yanni laughs but strums the first few chords like it’s nothing. “To-day is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you...”

“I was joking.”

But Yanni carries on. “There are many things that I’d like to say to you but I don’t know how…” He pauses, mouth open, eyebrows raised. “I said may-be….you’re gonna be the one who saves me….”

“And after all,” Jake joins, dramatically stretching out the syllables. “You’re my wonderwall.”

“Yeah, we’ll need to work on our harmony,” Yanni says, practically beaming.

Jake takes another sip of beer. “Play something you like.”

Yanni looks thoughtful for a moment and Jake gets a little lost in the way his fingers curve around the neck of the guitar, the way his fingertips press and release the strings.

“Okay, I’ve got it.”

It’s something slower and Jake doesn’t really recognize it right off the bat but Yanni’s voice dips lower, a little raspy and it doesn’t even matter. Jake doesn’t know the name of the song but it’s his new favorite.

Yanni keeps playing and singing until the sun sets completely, all of the colors pulled down below the horizon. Jake thinks some of the songs he sings are sad, most of them slow and sweet sounding. Jake watches him the whole time, even when it gets too dark to see the shape of his fingers. It gets a little cold out in the grass, but he stays, finishing his beer and listening. He never wants it to end.

“It’s really nice out here,” Yanni says, finishing another tune. “Peaceful.”

Jake agrees, shrugs. “Sometimes it gets lonely.”

And then Yanni is laying down next to him, their arms grazing and shoulders bumping. Yanni is gentle when he places his hand on top of Jake’s, palm smooth and dry. It’s a simple touch but it takes Jake’s breath away, being this close out in the dark of the night with each of Yanni’s fingertips brushing along his knuckles. He thinks about how easy it would be to turn his hand over, thread their fingers together and hold on. But he’s too afraid he’d never want to let go.

“I’ve never seen so many stars in once place,” Yanni says, barely more than a whisper. “Do you know the constellations?”

“Some, I guess,” Jake replies. He points out the big ones - Orion’s belt and the dippers and the princess who’s upside down sometimes. He can never remember her name.

Yanni hums, points up at a cluster of stars. “I think those look like a goat. Or maybe a really skinny sheep.”

Jake doesn’t see it but he laughs anyway, listening to Yanni draw up more pictures in the sky. Eventually his eyes get heavy and his body settles into the gentle cadence of Yanni’s voice.

“Am I putting you to sleep?” Yanni asks.

Jake can hear the smile in his words. “Nah, I could listen to you talk for hours.”

“Oh, Jacob,” he says, laughing softly. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Yanni heads into the bathroom to ready himself for bed while Jake settles onto the couch. He buries his nose in his phone, checking his email. There isn’t much in there, just a couple of updates that he already saw at the station, but he reads over them anyway just to pass the time.

He steadfastly does not react when the bathroom door opens, when Yanni steps out and pauses in the archway. Jake just mutters a good night, hopes that they can leave it at that. He can see out of the corner of his eye that Yanni doesn’t move, but he Does. Not. Look. Up.

“Jacob?”

His resolve melts away at the one pleading word.

Jake looks up. He can’t read the expression on Yanni’s face. At all. But he wants to. He wants to know what he’s thinking, what he sees when he looks at Jake, what he thought about out front when they were missing the harmony on Wonderwall.

But he doesn’t know, and there’s no way that he’s going to ask. He’s afraid to hear the answer. Afraid to add another rejection to his already long list.

“W-what?” Jake stutters out after he realizes that he’s spent the last thirty seconds or so just making uncomfortable eye contact. Yanni opens his mouth, starts to say something, but changes his mind with a little shake of his head and a shrug.

“Nothing, sorry. Good night.” He crosses to the bedroom.

Jake knows objectively that he’s closed the door as quietly as possible, but it seems so loud in his ears. Final.

Sitting there, he needs a minute to make sure that Yanni isn’t coming back out for anything. He takes a couple of slow, measured breaths in an attempt to steady himself, in hopes of forgetting about the way Yanni’s mouth looked shaped around his name. He absolutely fails, but he’s also pretty sure Yanni won’t be back out tonight.

He heads over to the closet to grab his sheet and pillow, dropping them on the couch before brushing his teeth.

He pulls his shirt off over his head on the way back to the couch, drops it carelessly on the floor before he gets settled. He thinks he’s going to have a hard time falling asleep with all the thoughts in his head, but he falls right off.  
  


Jake’s dreams are vivid that night, filled with the sensation of plush lips slowly trailing a path up his chest and across his his collarbone. Of soft hands with calloused fingertips gripping tightly at his hips. Sweet words muttered in his ear, telling him that he’s wanted, that he’s needed. The words say that he’s beautiful, that touching him everywhere is the only thing that matters.

He gets his fingers into soft curls, uses them to guide those lips to his own so he can take his fill. It’s a slow kiss, like he has all the time in the world. Like he isn’t desperate to have his fill of other things too. Like he isn’t starving for it.

He drowns in a soft, wet heat. The drag of a tongue. White teeth, a smile. A bite. He’s gasping, reaching out, tracing patterns along the curve of a neck, the tops of shoulders. It’s hot, everything is hot, sweltering. Jake’s overwhelmed, it’s all so, so much. He needs more. He wants to _give_ more, would give anything. Everything.

Pale green eyes blink up at him.

Jake jolts awake. He sits up, expecting it to be the middle of the night, surprised when he sees the dim light of dawn creeping in through the open curtains to the left of his door.

He leans back into the arm of the couch, not feeling the least bit rested. His nerves feel like they’re on a livewire, his muscles are pulled taut, like he ran a marathon without drinking any water. Jake needs. He needs…

He heads into the shower, where he wraps his hand around his dick and comes with Yanni’s name on his lips. He knows that he swore he wouldn’t, he knows, but he just--

He’s letting himself have this one little thing and it won’t happen again.


	4. Chapter 4

Jake busies himself pulling weeds and mowing the long grass they’d laid in the night before, cutting it down before the memory of it all settles in too deep. It’s simple work and it keeps his mind occupied, away from Yanni and his lips and the way they smile at him more than he deserves. His muscles feel used, sweat soaking into the ripped collar of his shirt by the time the sun has fully risen, when he’s finally done.  

Maybe all he needed was a good run behind the mower to settle himself down.

He’s careful not to let the screen slam when he comes back inside, leaving his grass covered boots on the porch. Pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher in the fridge, he startles when he realizes Yanni is sitting on the couch.

He looks deep in thought.

"Oh, uh, hi." Jake pulls another glass down and fills it, offering it to Yanni.

"Where do you sleep?" he asks, setting the water on the coffee table.

"I, um.” Jake is thrown by Yanni’s tone. “I’ve been sleeping there, on the couch."

"And I'm..." Yanni pushes his eyebrows together in clear annoyance. All the emotions that have passed over Yanni’s face in the last almost-week, _this_ is one he finally recognizes, because of course. “That’s a closet.” He thumbs over his shoulder at, well, Jake’s linen closet. “And I have been sleeping in your bed.”

"Yes."

"Why am I sleeping in your bed? I'm a prisoner!"

“You aren’t really a prisoner, you’re more like a sanctioned guest, and I just thought that you would be more comfortable in a be-”

"You're so...kind,” Yanni says with a sigh, his whole face screwing up in disbelief.

It shouldn’t make Jake’s breath catch, the way he’s still so beautiful even when he’s mad, but he’s not surprised. Not when there’s a Yanni-shaped space in his chest overriding all brain function.

“You're so damn kind that you're stupid. I'm sleeping on the couch tonig-”

Jake’s grip on his water tenses as Yanni speaks until he slams it down, because _no_.

"Don’t you dare say that! It isn't stupid to be kind!” he shouts, running an angry hand through his hair. “I know that I don't have a lot going for me, alright? I _know_ that I’m stupid--”

“I, no, I didn’t mean--”

“And, yeah, I’m ugly and I’m not quick-witted. That’s all very established, thank you...but _don't you dare_ take the one good thing about me and make it out to be something bad!"

Yanni blinks up at him owlishly.

Jake braces himself, because he witnessed Yanni’s sharp tongue in action with Judge Vinik, and he isn’t looking forward to having it directed at himself.

Yanni surprises him, though, when he climbs up onto the table in front of the couch, rising to eye level. “I didn’t mean that. Of course you are smart. You passed the academy, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but--”

“And they let you run the whole town at night!” He punctuates his point with a jab to Jake’s shoulder. “They wouldn’t let someone who isn’t smart do that. Everyone trusts you because you are honest and _good_.”

Jake is about to argue to the contrary when Yanni continues.

"And who told you that you’re ugly?" he demands.

That’s easy. “Everyone!” Jake flaps his hands in defeat.

"They’re so very wrong.”

Jake’s sputtering, trying not to laugh in Yanni’s face, when Yanni takes his hand, brings it up to examine.

“Your hands drive me crazy sometimes,” he says, softly, trailing fingers up Jake’s forearm and elbow and shoulder. Leaving goosebumps in his wake. “And you’re strong.” He follows the ripped edge of Jake’s collar with a fingertip, a tinge of pink rising to his cheeks. “You don’t even realize when you’re showing off.”

Jake swallows, mouth dry as sand.

Yanni grips Jake’s chin between two fingers, the way his ma used to when she was mad he wasn’t listening.

He has Jake’s undivided attention.

“Your smile is so sweet and your laugh is impossibly better. I want to make you laugh all the time,” he says. “The way your eyes crinkle up at the corners. The greenest green.”

Jake blinks when Yanni brushes at the corner of one, smooths over an eyebrow.

“Everything you feel is written all over your face and it’s beautiful.” Yanni trails two fingers down the bridge of his nose, settling both hands on his jaw to cup his face.

“I-it isn’t nice to tell lies.” Jake tries to pull back, Yanni’s fingers tighten.

“I would never lie to you.”

This is too intimate, whatever this is turning out to be, and Jake is out of his depth. He needs to get control of the situation, distance himself. He clears his throat. “T-that’s kind of you to say, Mr. Gourde, but-”

“You’ve been calling me Yanni for days, you can’t start with the Mr. Gourde again now.” He tugs gently on Jake’s jaw, pulling him in.

Jake tips his head so their foreheads meet, stopping him. “I can’t…” He shakes his head. “I don’t need your pity, Yanni.” He doesn’t think it’s pity anymore, not really, but the alternative is someone, is _Yanni,_ wanting him and he doesn’t know what to do with that.

Yanni moves, countering Jake again, and his lips are almost, but not quite touching Jake’s when he asks, “Does any of this feel like pity to you?”

“Well, no, but-”

Yanni kisses him, and it’s nothing at all what he expected a kiss to feel like and so much more than he ever imagined. Totally different than what he’s seen on countless movie screens. It’s just a press of lips, mostly pressure and the weight of Yanni’s hands holding Jake there, but Yanni’s lips are warm and a little chapped and Jake’s still, oh, shit, he’s still all sweaty, which is so not the state he expected to be in for his first kiss but--

But.

It’s kind of perfect and he wants to do it a hundred more times.

Yanni’s hands start to slip around to his back, teetering on the very edge of the table to try and get Jake closer.

“I’m all gross and sweaty,” Jake mutters on his lips.

“I don’t care,” Yanni replies, and that’s all the prompting Jake needs to wrap his arms around Yanni and pull their bodies together, flush from lips to hips. He’s overwhelmed by the contact at first, by the slide of his hands in the space between Yanni’s shoulder blades and the way Yanni works his lips against his own. He loves the feeling of Yanni’s body up against his, he can admit that to himself now, and this kissing thing is ju--

Yanni’s tongue slips into Jake’s mouth and he gasps as goosebumps break out all over his body. Yanni hums into his mouth, sliding his fingers up into Jake’s hair and holding on. Jake, in turn, trails his hands around the curve of Yanni’s ribs, slips them tentatively down to his hips.

It’s the sexiest thing that’s ever happened to him and it’s just kissing.

He thinks it’s over when Yanni pulls back but then gentle teeth nip at his bottom lip and his knees threaten to go weak.

“You’re so sensitive,” Yanni whispers, dragging his thumb along the place his teeth just were.

“O-oh.”

“Surely someone’s told you that before,” he says with a smirk, brushing at Jake’s temples.

And Jake knows this is the perfect place to admit that he’s never been this close to anyone else in his entire life. That the kiss they just shared is simultaneously the best and the worst he’s ever had. That pretty much only his own hand knows how sensitive he is.

He takes a step back from Yanni, still standing on the coffee table, and licks his lips, wishing he could taste some remnant of Yanni there. “Uh, that’s honestly the first time someone’s said it.”

“Don’t look so embarrassed,” Yanni coos. “I like it.”

Jake lets himself be brought back to Yanni’s lips, melts a little into the way Yanni holds him so carefully.

He wants to stay in the moment forever, to have it never end, but he knows it has to. Yanni only has two benches left and Dallas is waiting to make him a star. Jake might not be one of those professional judges on American Idol, but he has ears, and Yanni is really good.

He presses one last hard kiss to Yanni’s lips before reluctantly pulling away.

“No, come back here,” Yanni whines, grasping at his shirt, trying to pull him back.

“I wish that…” And isn’t that a loaded statement. He has so many wishes, but everyone knows what they say about wishes.

“What do you wish?” Yanni prompts softly.

Jake shakes his head in reply, because his wishes don’t matter. “There’s still a couple of benches left and you have to leave for Dallas by this afternoon if you’re going to make your audition.”

“Oh. Yeah, you’re right, I guess.” Yanni hops down off of the table and Jake lets his hands linger on him for as long as he can before it gets too awkward. He brushes one daring thumb across Yanni’s cheek before breaking all contact.

Yanni looks sad now and Jake can’t have that. He knows how to fix it though. He can talk about the thing that means the most to Yanni. “Hey, do you already know what song you’re going to audition with?”

“Uh, I have a few songs in mind, but I won’t decide until day-of,” Yanni answers. He’s already looking more animated as they head for the car.

Yanni talks about his audition methods, Jake prompting him with as many questions as he can think of. They’re halfway into town when Yanni hooks his pinky onto Jake’s. He’s got his hand resting on the gearshift and nearly throws the car into neutral when he jerks.

“Would this be okay?”

“Y-yeah, that’s. Yeah.”

Yanni slips his whole palm under Jake’s then, curling their fingers together as he settles their joined hands in his lap, looking pleased with himself.

Jake loves every minute of it.

 

//

 

Yanni finishes the last bench midmorning.

Jake pulls out his phone to notify Teddy he can take the night shift back starting tonight while Yanni loads up the paint and brushes for the last time.

They ride in silence back to the house so Yanni can gather up his belongings. It reminds him so much of Saturday night, but now his heart aches with it. Jake tries to watch him pack, wants to say something, say _anything_ to make it better so they can spend their last few minutes together happy, but he can’t.

He excuses himself, says he’s going to take a shower, but really, he just starts the water and sits on the toilet seat, trying not to cry. It’s a cruel joke that someone finally wants to kiss him and they have to leave.

It would have been kinder having no chance at all, in hindsight. If he had just let him fly by in the middle of the night none of this would have happened. He could have gone to Tulsa and Jake could have gone on living without knowing what Yanni’s lips felt like against his.

His phone goes off. It’s Teddy, telling him that he’ll be in the office in fifteen. Jake splashes water on his face and tries to do something with his hair, which is a lost cause. He clears his throat and straightens his uniform before turning off the shower. He puts his wide-brimmed hat back on and opens the door.

He comes face-to-face with Yanni, having just stepped out of the bedroom with his bag and guitar. “Oh, sorry.”

Yanni looks like he’s going to say something but Jake steps out of his way and heads for the living room.

He’s spent long enough feeling sorry for himself and it isn’t even about him, anyways. It’s about Yanni and he’s probably ready to leave by now.

 

Jake drives Yanni to the impound lot and they circle around until he spots his car. Jake gets out to walk him to it.

“Such a gentleman,” Yanni says, a sad smile on his face.

Jake shrugs. He doesn’t want to say goodbye, it feels like it’s too soon. Unfairly soon. But he has to, because Yanni is beautiful and talented and he’s going to do more with his life than just hang around in Nowhere with the likes of Jake Dotchin. The kiss will be enough one day, when Jake can look back on the time they shared together and not feel like his heart is being turned to ash. It will be enough.

And, also, he can look forward to a new thing for the boys to joke with him about. The time that famous singer was stuck with him for a few days. Because he has no doubt that Yanni’s going to be famous. New material for them, how lucky.

“Hey,” Jake says when Yanni reaches for his door handle.

Yanni pauses, looks over at him.

“I understand I’m not supposed to say ‘good luck’ to you, but um, I think maybe you’ve already hit your quota of bad luck for the next little while.”

Yanni huffs a laugh, ducks his head. It’s adorable and Jake’s chest aches. He loves that he got to have this, even if it’s only for a short while, but it hurts. “Jacob, I-”

“Hey, you’re gonna be amazing, yeah?” Jake reaches out, cups Yanni’s cheek. He can’t hide the way that he’s shaking, but it doesn’t really matter at this point. “Knock it out of the park.”

“I’m more of a hockey person.” Yanni leans into his hand.

Jake’s heart sings, because it has never listened to him when it comes to how it should behave. “Well, score a hattrick, then.” Jake keeps his voice even. Just barely.

“Those aren’t exactly the same,” Yanni replies. He turns and presses a soft kiss to the center of Jake’s palm. “But I’ll see what I can do.” Yanni fists Jake’s shirt, tugs at it. “Hey, c’mere.”

Jake allows himself to be pulled in. His eyes drop closed as he tries to enjoy his first kiss goodbye. It’s hard, though, because Yanni’s skin is so soft under his fingers when he traces them along his jaw and he smells familiar, like Jake’s bed and the soap in his shower and a little bit like fresh air and...

Jake is going to miss everything about this.

He _should_ have let Yanni go with a warning.

The kiss breaks; Yanni is already staring up at him when his eyes flutter open. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Yes. Yup.” Jake swallows around the lump in his throat. “Take care.”

Yanni smiles at him again before turning to pop his door open.

Jake stands there until Yanni’s car turns out of the lot. And then he stands there a little while longer, until he’s sure he’s not going cry or do something stupid like jump in his car and chase after him. He has to get home and go to bed. It’s back to nights for him in a few hours.

 

//

 

Jake wakes up surrounded by the scent of Yanni and everything that just happened rushes back to him. He should have changed his sheets before he took his nap, but he just wasn’t ready yet. He buries his face in his pillow, spends a moment or two wallowing before he pushes himself up to start getting ready for work.

His hand rests on his hat when he pauses at the front door and glances over his shoulder. There’s his couch, only the center cushion showing any wear, and his dinner table with the one chair. Slater had generously called it a bachelor pad when he moved in, but Jake knows he was just being kind. It’s nothing more than a place for someone who is alone. He sighs through his nose as he turns to leave.

His car is quiet on the way to the station, which it should be, really, he just, he didn’t realize how much he’d gotten used to having Yanni sitting next to him, that’s all. All of the radio stations are on commercial so he just turns the whole thing off.

 

He swings into the spot next to his truck, immediately noticing the half-eaten bag of gummy bears sitting on the dash. He drops his head back onto the headrest and closes his eyes, flashes of Yanni in his arms and popcorn and missed movies filling his mind.

He can’t do this.

His ma is speed dial 1 so it’s easy to call her, folding over to rest his forehead on the steering wheel as he waits for her to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hey ma,” he says, voice cracking.

“Shouldn’t you be at work? What’s wrong?”

“Yeah I’m...I’m in the parking lot I just. I dunno.”

“Jacob…”

“I met a guy,” he rushes out. “And I know I’ve said it before but this time felt different. I can’t stop thinking about him and my chest feels like there’s an elephant sitting on it, crushing me, and he’s _gone_. He was everything for not even a week and now I’m never going to see him again.” He’s working himself up again, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “Why was it so different this time?”

“Oh pumpkin,” his ma drawls, sweet like a hug. “Sometimes love doesn’t take long to build its nest in you.”

Love. His friends have told him he falls in love with people all the time and none of them have ever felt like Yanni. “How do I fix it?”

“You just gotta give it some time. It’ll fix itself.”

Right. He’s got all kinds of time. The whole rest of his life. “Okay.”

“Why don’t you come for dinner tomorrow before work,” she says. “I’ll make up a big batch of scalloped potatoes.”

Jake smiles into the phone. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“It’s a date. Now get to work, you shouldn’t let yourself be late!”

They hang up and Jake wipes at his eyes, drying his cheeks. There will be no more of that.

“Hey, good to see ya at the normal time, Dotch.” Teddy greets him when he walks in.

“Yeah, uh…” Jake doesn’t have a way to finish his sentence, so he just doesn’t.

Teddy, as per usual, doesn’t seem to notice or care. “You must be really glad to be rid of that obnoxious kid, yeah?”

“He isn’t obnoxious,” Jake snaps before catching himself. “And he isn’t a kid.”

“Okay.” Teddy holds his hands up, looking like that one meme that Carter thinks is so hilarious. “Sor-ry. I’ll just get out of your hair, then.”

Teddy leaves without even saying goodbye, not that Jake cares. He’s too busy trying to figure out where he can patrol that won’t remind him of the last few days.

 

The sun is just breaking over the horizon when Jake arrives home after a long night of being reminded of Yanni in every corner of town, despite all of his efforts. He’s rubbing his eyes blearily as he steps down from the cab of his truck when he catches sight of it.

There’s a bench-green heart painted on the corner of his porch, right near the edge of the steps where Yanni spent a whole night singing to him. He smiles to himself, running a finger over the still-tacky paint. He imagines it's Yanni signing off on his letter goodbye, one last little thing for Jake to hold on to. A _Sure, you’re gonna miss me, but I’ll always be here if you just look._

It’s nice to know Yanni did want him in the end, that Jake had something real for a little while, and, if he thought the town’s coincidences were for someone like him too, he’d think Yanni would have been his. But, despite all the things Jake’s heart has wished for over the years, he learned a long time ago that happy endings aren’t always...

Not everyone gets one, and those people just have to make do with what they’re dealt.

A sudden movement catches the corner of his eye. He glances over, a slow half-smile blooming when he sees that there’s a hummingbird drinking from the feeder his ma gave him back when he moved in. It’s a perfect reminder of how this whole thing started, and his mind wanders back to gummy bears and movies and kisses goodbye as he makes his way into his house.

But this time it doesn’t hurt as much as the last.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as I'm sure you can see...the rating has gone up :))

It’s Jake’s day to cover for Caley at the courthouse reception desk while she’s on vacation, and he has not spent the majority of it on his phone checking every American Idol website on the internet. He _hasn’t._  He really needs to consider taking his own vacation sometime, not that he’d know what to do on one. He has heard that Los Angeles is nice this time of ye--

Jake leans forward when the door opens. It’s a teeny bit odd to have someone come in so late in the day, but he is there to help.

For the next fifteen minutes or so.

A small shock of surprise vibrates through him when the couple walks in, mostly because seeing them makes him realize that he hasn’t thought about the Girl in the Jean Jacket at all since he pulled over a certain speeding car. Jake pulls himself together, offers a friendly smile when they step up to the desk, hand-in-hand.

“How can I help you today?”

“Hi, Officer Dotchin. We’ve never met proper, but I’m Bethany and this here is Henry. We wanna file for a marriage license, please.”

Bethany is not the name he expected her to have, for some reason, though it suits her. “Well, congratulations! Just step through that door over there and Mrs. Vinik should be with you momentarily.”

“Thanks so much!” she flashes That Smile at him, and she’s still very pretty when she does it, but that’s all it is. A pretty girl smiling. And he’s okay with that.

He turns to the computer to record their arrival while they head for Mrs. Vinik’s office. He waits until they’re inside before getting up to leave.  Anyone else who decides they need something from the courthouse at ten ‘til five on a Friday afternoon can find where they’re going on the laminated map he lays out.

Jake needs to get home and nap before his shift.

 

//

 

“Hey, Dotch-o, when you gonna stop being such a mopey mess over the obnoxious kid?” Teddy’s greetings have always been pretty shitty, but this one really takes the cake. Jake isn’t even past reception yet.

“Stop calling him that.” Jake is sick of having this argument with Teddy. “And I’m not moping.”

“Yeah, well, you can _not_ _mope_ out on 60, because that’s where boss wants you.” Teddy is a smug dick, he really is.

“Man, just leave.” Jake pushes past him to get to their desk.

“Hope you see some joyriders,” Teddy retorts, already halfway out the door.

Jake’s just glad to see his backside. He drops into his chair, spends a minute looking for anything he could do to put off going out and running radar. He sighs, though, standing back up to head for the door when he realizes that there isn’t anything.

Damn, but small town life sucks sometimes.

 

//

 

Jake swears running radar didn’t used to be this boring, that he didn’t dislike sitting here quite so much before. He groans. He hates when Teddy is right, because he _is_ moping.

But maybe what he hates a little more is that he’s alone again. He knew he was always going to be, but now its--

His radar goes absolutely crazy and Jake looks up just in time to see a car fly past him at 101.

“No, nope,” Jake mutters to himself, tapping the radar’s reset button repeatedly. Whoever it is gets a free pass from him, because he isn’t going to--

He hears the squeal of tires and the rev of an engine before the car blows by again, still going the exact same speed. Jake figures it must be joyriders, won’t Teddy be so thrilled.

Jake flips on his lights and takes off after the car, which pulls over almost immediately, which is...unnerving. For one second he debates throwing his siren back on and taking off like there was an emergency, but decides that he’s being ridiculous and climbs out of the car.

“License and registration,” he prompts.

“It’s a good thing that I wasn’t in a rush, what with you making me drive back and forth like an idiot,” a familiar accent teases him.

Jake half leans into the window, has to see Yanni for himself, to know that he’s really there and Jake isn’t just imagining it. “What. Are you serious, I mean...what are you doing here?”

“I told you that I’d see you around.” Yanni is grinning, Jake wants to kiss him.

“I didn’t expect it would be so soon.” Or at all, but he isn’t going to say that and ruin the moment. ”Or in some car that’s not your own. What even is this?”

“How was I going to get you to pull me over again if you recognized my car?”

“Well, you could have tried just going to my house, knocking on the door.” Jake tips closer, blinks a couple of times because he still can’t believe that this is really happening.“I think you know where it is, since you spent so much time there under house arrest.”

“I thought I was a sanctioned guest?”

“Well, I mean, yeah. You don’t ever have to stay…” Jake blushes when his words catch up to him.

“But what if I want to stay?” Yanni’s eyes go all intense and serious, and it’s, it’s a lot, and Jake knows he probably doesn’t mean _stay_ , stay, but still, hearing those words is...is...

Jake doesn’t have anything to compare it to, but his heart feels like it is going supernova right now, so there’s that. He can be cool, though. He _can._

“Why don’t you--”

“So when do you--”

Jake smiles. “You first.”

“I was going to ask when you get off of work...that is, if I’m not arrested again.”

“Hmm. I suppose I could let you off with a warning, just this once,” Jake teases.

“Better this time than the last.” Yanni’s fingers play at Jake’s tie before he gives it a little tug and oh, Jake missed kissing Yanni more than he even thought, which seemed impossible until this moment. He wants to stand there all night, but also, maybe he should do some work. Yanni whines when he breaks the kiss. “Why are you always doing that?”

“I have to get back to work, protect the community from all the criminals about.” Jake’s wishing he was the sort to play hooky.

“I have it on pretty good authority that the only criminal around these parts is me, and I was just let off with a warning, so…”

“God, Yanni, I want to, so bad,” Jake says, more honest than he means to be. “Just head home, I won’t be much longer.”

“Promise?” There’s a pleading tone to Yanni’s voice. Like it’s necessary, as if Jake would ever deny him anything.

“Of course,” Jake says. He runs a knuckle along Yanni’s cheekbone. “I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Okay,” Yanni relents. He starts the car, straightens himself in the seat. “Just leave if that jerk Teddy is late, though. I mean it.”

Yanni looks pleased by the surprised bark of laughter that slips out of Jake. “Okay.”

That seems to be enough for Yanni, who presses one last kiss to his lips before waving him off and pulling away.

Jake watches him leave, _really_ wishing that he didn’t have so many hours of his shift left.  

 

//

 

The sky is just beginning to lighten when Jake gets back home, parking behind the rental Yanni drove all the way from Dallas.

The house is dark and he’s careful to keep quiet as slips out of his shoes. He works his tie and the buttons of his shirt loose, hanging his hat on the hook by the front door. On his way to his safe to lock up his gun, his eye is drawn to the bedroom door left barely ajar. There’s a bare foot sticking out from under the sheet and a thrill tingles up his spine.

That’s Yanni.

Jake doesn’t dawdle in the bathroom, doesn’t stop to get a glass of water or even double check his safe, he steps out of the rest of his clothes and tiptoes into the bedroom.

Yanni’s rolled onto his belly, face pressed into the pillow and mouth hanging open. Little snores fill the silence as Jake creeps around to the far side of the bed and slips under the sheet.

He holds his breath when Yanni stirs, turning onto his side so the whole spread of his back is facing Jake. It’s one of the best things Jake’s ever seen and he wants to look his fill, run fingertips between the freckles on his skin to map out constellations. But he can wait.

He’s waited his whole life for this, a few more hours will feel like nothing.

Jake mirrors Yanni’s position, leaving a little space between them, and closes his eyes.

 

The air is warm when Jake comes to, almost sticky with heat. He stretches and tries to kick the sheet off of his legs but there’s som--

“Good morning.”

Yanni is draped on his chest, one leg tucked over Jake’s own, smiling. Jake has no idea what to do with this sort of thing.

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” Yanni continues in a hushed tone. “You heated me out of the bed, all your limbs wrapped around me.”

Jake feels like that’s something he should be apologizing for but Yanni looks pleased, head pillowed on Jake’s chest. “What time is it?”

“Just a little before noon.”

“You could’ve woken me up, y’know.”

“You looked peaceful.” Yanni drags a finger along Jake’s collar bone. “And I was enjoying myself, imagining all the ways I am going to kiss you.”

Jake flushes impossibly hotter, his body practically on fire at the implication of Yanni’s words. “I, um, yes? Okay. Just, hold that thought?”

Yanni giggles before pressing his lips to the center of Jake’s chest. “Okay.”

Jake’s toes curl. “I’ll be right back.”

He escapes to the bathroom across the hall, shutting the door firmly behind him. Gripping the edge of the sink, he gets a good look at himself in the mirror - all flushed cheeks and bed head and a little bit of stubble under his jaw.

This is fine.

He brushes his teeth with too much toothpaste, almost gagging himself when he scrubs at the back of his tongue too quickly.

This is happening.

He wipes his mouth and rushes back across the hall. “Okay, sorry. Hi.”

Yanni’s stretched out on his back now, shirtless and on full display. A strip of sun from the window is spread across his stomach. Jake’s never seen anything so perfect.

“Come back here.”

Jake knee-walks onto the bed and Yanni reaches for him, pulling him down into a kiss, a sweet brush of their lips.

“H-how did you imagine me,” Jake asks, emboldened. “When you were thinking about kissing me?”

Yanni smiles. “I thought you’d be soft, pliant under my touch. Sensitive.”

Jake shivers.

“I can’t wait to leave a mark on you, touch you everywhere.”

He traces a finger down Jake’s neck and goosebumps gather on his skin.

“I thought I might start here,” he whispers, leaning up to press his lips just behind Jake’s ear. He drags the very tip of his tongue down the column of Jake’s neck, nips at the curve of his shoulder.

Jake exhales.

“Lay back.”

And Jake is more than happy to let Yanni press him into the mattress, more than happy to let him settle across his hips, let his hands brush along his ribs and down the flat of his stomach. He blushes when he catches Yanni’s gaze.

He never thought he’d see someone look at him like that.

Yanni takes Jake’s hand, brings it to his lips. He watches Jake as he licks the tip of his finger, kisses it, the palm of his hand, the thin skin of his wrist and Jake is butter melting in the sun.

“Did you think about me, Jacob?” he asks, pressing Jake’s palm to his chest, right over his heart. “What you would do if you had me?”

Jake’s thought about Yanni every day since he left but he only let himself imagine this, “Once.”

“Mmm, and what did we do?”

“T-this,” he says. “It was a lot like this. I...I didn’t get very far.”

Yanni smirks.

“Not because...I just, I had a hard time imagining you ever wanting me. Which is dumb now!” he blurts, seeing the crestfallen look on Yanni’s face. “But like, you were leaving and I just thought it was another unrequited crush and then you kissed me but you were _still leaving_ and please make me stop talki--.”

Yanni leans down and his teeth find Jake’s ear. “Where’s your lube?”

Oh fuck. “In the…” He has to clear his throat. “The top drawer of the...over there.”

Yanni rolls off of his hips and Jake misses the weight of him immediately, can’t stop himself from pressing the heel of his palm against his dick. He’s needy in a way he never thought he could be, wound up and coiled tight and totally, completely i--.

“Let me do that.” Yanni drops the bottle he found on the bed next to Jake’s hip. 

Jake’s brain kind of short circuits when Yanni moves his hand out of the way, replacing it with his own.

“What do you like?”

“You.”

Yanni curls his fingers around Jake’s dick through his boxers. “There must be something you like.”

Jake bites his lip as Yanni’s fingers trace the tip, already wet. He feels like he’s drowning in the way Yanni’s touching him, the way he’s _looking_ at him. He’s softened under the work of Yanni’s hands, like wet clay ready to be reformed. “Any...anything you want.”

It’s a relief when Yanni kisses him, both hands holding his jaw. Jake doesn’t think kissing Yanni will ever get boring.

“Take these off,” Yanni says against his lips, fingers snapping at the waistband of his boxers. “Let me see you.”

Mercy, Jake’s face is going to be bright red this whole time.

The first touch of Yanni’s hand against Jake’s bare dick is almost too much. He’s settled down around Jake’s hip, lips mapping out the skin there as he strokes him achingly slow. Tortuously slow.

Beautifully slow.

“Relax.”

He whines when Yanni lets go to cover his hand in lube and Jake slides his own fingers under the hem of Yanni’s tight boxers. Every nerve in his body is alive and bending to Yanni’s desire, waiting for his next move.

His slick hand back on Jake’s dick is incredible, hips arching to beg for more. Faster.

“I want you to fuck me.”

Jake knows Yanni feels the way he twitches in his hand and he wants to be embarrassed about it but there are too many other things spinning in his mind. Like how he doesn’t think he’ll even make it inside of Yanni before the whole thing will be over. “I-I don’t want to..to disappoint you,” he confesses. “And I think that would definitely be a disappointment.”

Yanni squeezes his fingers at the base of Jake’s dick with a smile. “Then we will make it easy.”

Jake has no idea what that means but Yanni’s pulling away and slipping his boxers down over his ass, kicking them off the end of the bed. Jake’s mouth goes dry.

He lays down and tugs at Jake’s arm until he rolls to face him. “Is this okay?”

Jake nods into the kiss, parting his lips for Yanni’s tongue. He thinks he almost has the hang of it, tilting his head so Yanni has better access to take his breath away. He moans when Yanni squeezes his hip, urges his whole body closer until their chests are pressed together and legs tangled up.

He traces the line of Yanni’s spine, settling just above his ass. He doesn’t expect Yanni’s soft gasp at the touch, doesn’t expect Yanni to arch into his hand. “Please,” Yanni begs. “I want to feel you.”

And Jake wants to give Yanni everything he ever asks for but he’s way out of his depth here. He has no idea what he’s doing. He knows he could say something, could tell Yanni all the things he doesn’t know how to do, all the things he’s only ever imagined when he’s been alone in this bed...

“Like this,” Yanni says, rearranging himself so his back is pressed against Jake’s chest, ass snug in the cradle of his hips. “Between my thighs.”

Oh Lord. “Gimme the...”

Yanni is quick to pass the bottle of lube and Jake pours out way too much, hand shaking. He holds Yanni close as he presses his dick against his ass, letting it slip down behind his balls. Yanni squirms, hitches himself up a little and urges Jake on again.

Jake presses in against the space just below Yanni’s ass and _oh._

Yanni lets him in, the lube making the slide so easy between his thighs. Jake can’t believe it.

“ _Jacob_.”

Jake rocks his hips, holding Yanni close as he does. The patch of sunlight has moved, spreading itself across Yanni’s neck and shoulders and Jake can’t look away. He watches Yanni’s face as he moves, tries to think about anything but the sweet pressure on his dick made infinitely worse when Yanni twitches, squeezes around him.

Yanni takes the hand wrapped around his chest, directs it down to his dick, folds Jake’s fingers around it and _holy shit_ he’s not going to make it. He’s going to come all over Yanni’s thighs, he’s going to make a mess of him and it will be over just as fast as he feared. He tries to coordinate his hand with his hips, tries to get Yanni just as close as he feels. He makes a place for himself in the crook of Yanni’s neck, kisses him there.

The sound Yanni makes in response is the sweetest thing Jake’s ever heard and he wants to hear it again and again, forever. He wants to keep Yanni here in his arms, teetering along the edge of pleasure, pressed against his chest, safe. Yanni’s mouth drops open, lips parted and gasping for air. He reaches back to hold Jake close, slick fingers slipping on the skin of Jake’s hip as he rolls forward into the tight space between Yanni’s legs and it’s _perfect_. God, it’s perfect.

Yanni flexes his thighs and Jake cries out, unable to hold back from the edge.

Jake is useless, all of his limbs going tingly and limp. Objectively, he knew it would be so much better with another person but like, _wow_. Yanni lets his dick slip from between his thighs before rolling back over to face him, to surge up and capture his lips in a kiss, to arch against him in search of what Jake already found.

He holds Yanni close and kisses him as sweetly as he knows how, until Yanni opens up for him and groans when Jake’s teeth drag along his lip. Jake’s heart is pounding, he thinks Yanni could probably see the way it beats for him if he’d just open his eyes. Yanni breaks the kiss to tuck his head under Jake’s chin, rolling his hips and Jake slips fingers into his hair, urges him on and on and his heart is so full of this man in his arms he can barely _breathe_. “I love you.”

Yanni tenses, gasps, and Jake realizes exactly what he said.

“I’m sorry that’s not what I meant!” he backpedals. “Wait no, I do mean it but I didn’t mean to spring it on you in the middle...god, that’s so cliche, I’m sorr--.”

Yanni shuts him up with a kiss. “I love you too, silly boy.”

 

//

 

Jake startles awake when Yanni raps on the bedroom door.

“Hey, sleepy head, clean yourself up so we can eat.”

Jake notices that Yanni’s eyes linger on him and he’s blushing a-fucking-gain when he realizes that he’s naked, uncovered, and still a complete mess. “I’ll, um, I’ll be there in a minute,” he mumbles, grabbing for the sheet as if Yanni hasn’t already gotten a full look.

Yanni snorts as he leaves.

Jake lays there for a moment before scrambling out of bed and tripping into the bathroom with all of the grace of a drunken cow. He hardly pays attention as he cleans himself up, doing a haphazard job of it, then pulls on the first shorts and tshirt he puts his hands on.

Yanni’s in the kitchen, pots and pans he didn’t even know he had strewn all over the stove. “This smells delicious.”

Yanni turns his face up for a kiss and Jake obliges. “It’s just spaghetti.”

“It smells better than when I make it.”

“It’s probably the dash of love I put in.”

Jake’s heart does a somersault. “You, uh, you really meant that? In bed?”

Yanni squints. “Didn’t you?”

“Without a doubt.” He takes the spoon from Yanni and ladles some sauce over his noodles.

“I’ve never met anyone like you,” Yanni says, settling into the middle of the couch like he owns it. “I wouldn’t have come back if you weren’t important to me.”

That makes Jake smile, just a little, as he squeezes in next to him. “I still can’t believe you came back.”

“I would have regretted it if I hadn’t.”

They tuck into their food and Jake doesn’t believe for one second that Yanni didn’t work some magic with the pasta sauce to make it taste this good. He gets halfway through his plate before remembering the question he wanted to ask. “So, uh, how long do you think you’ll stay?”

Yanni shrugs. “I don’t really have anywhere I need to be.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

Jake sets his fork down and then puts his whole plate on the living room table, trying not to let his emotions get ahead of themselves. “What?”

Yanni blushes, looking shy. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”

And damn if that ain’t the truth.


	6. Chapter 6

_One month later..._

Jake doesn’t know why he agreed to have a watch party for Yanni’s episode of American Idol. All it’s done is cause him stress and raise his anxiety. He’s spent more time than he should have making sure everything would be nice. No, _perfect_. He wants it to be perfect.

He’d spent the first four hours of his Yanni-endorsed vacation setting up streamers and golden balloons, picking up party platters of deli meats and cheese and veggies no one is going to eat. He’d spent the first four hours of his Yanni-endorsed vacation feeling guilty for saddling Teddy with the night shift for five days, even if he is a dick on his best days. 

“How’s this look?” Yanni asks, flaunting a very large belt buckle in Jake’s direction.

“Did you borrow that from Slater? Where did you even get that?”

“The general store. They’ve got all kinds of things in there. Do you hate it?”

Jake thinks the buckle looks even bigger on Yanni because of his frame. It’s kind of cute though. “I like it.”

Yanni brightens. “Come on then, we don’t want to be late.”

 

//

 

The bar is as empty as Jake’s ever seen it when they get there, just a few clusters of people he recognizes from school or through his ma. He leads Yanni toward the table he’d reserved for them, in clear view of the biggest television.

“What do you want to drink?” he asks.

“Whatever you’re having,” Yanni says with a sweet smile.

“Okay.” Jake kisses him quickly before he weaves between the tables toward the bar where a familiar face is popping tops off bottles of beer. “Witty didn’t tell me you were back in town.”

Bray smiles. “Just got in a couple days ago.”

“How’s school?”

“Done. I graduated last week.”

“Really? It’s already been four years? Geez no wonder you can grow that beard. I’m jealous.”

“Runs in the family,” he jokes, wiping down the bar in front of Jake.

“You sticking around for very long?”

“Yeah, probably. I didn’t love the big city life. Need a break.” He shrugs. “Did you want something to drink?”

“Two Bud Lights.”

Bray’s quick, pulling the two bottles out of ice and popping the tops. “Witty said you’d found yourself someone.”

“Yeah,” he says, beaming. “It’s good. It’s really good.”

“‘Bout time, eh?”

Jake’s response gets swallowed up by the hooting and hollering that follows Slater and Braydon’s arrival, their clasped hands held up in the air like they just got married.

Oh.

Jake rushes over to see what all the hullabaloo is about, dropping off one of the beers for Yanni. “Do you know what happened?”

“Engaged, I think.”

Jake is so happy he might burst and he shoves his way to the front of the circle surrounding Slater as he shows off his new silver ring.

“It was a total surprise,” he’s explaining. “Said he had to go pick up something from the General Store and then waited a whole _month_ to actually do it. I should’ve known he’d use Nosey somehow. God, he’s such a stupid romantic. Who gets an engraved halter to propose? He’s perfect.”

Braydon is holding court just behind them and turns around to press a kiss to the top of Slater’s head. “Don’t go telling people I’m perfect.”

“But you _are_!”

They’re so gross and in love and Jake can’t wait to make Yanni as happy as Slater one day. The groups break up and Jake spots Connor and Anna near the front doors. “Oh hey guys!”

“What happened?” Connor asks, nodding toward the few people still swarmed around Slater.

“Braydon proposed,” Jake says.

“What! No way!” Connor rushes over to give Slater a few slaps on the back in congratulations.

Anna hums, crosses her arms. “I’m gonna get a drink.”

Jake heads back to the table where Yanni is and finds him talking to Pudge and Cory. “Where’d you all come from, I didn’t see you come in!”

“We came in the back,” Pudge says. “The stairs from Cory’s place go right to the backdoor.”

Jake waggles his eyebrows and Pudge throws the little straw from his bourbon at him. “D’you see Bray’s back?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Yeah, Witty said he was coming back for a while. Can you believe he’s old enough to work here? I remember when he was like, what, just starting high school when we graduated? Time flies.”

“Uh, something like th--”

“Speak of the devil,” Cory interrupts, nodding toward the door where the Witty’s just arrived.

Yanni grabs a couple more chairs for them.

“Well this looks like a table full of trouble,” Witty says. “Did Slater make his big announcement?”

“Yeah, he came in ring blazing,” Pudge replies. “Nobody could miss it.”

“I’m just glad Braydon finally did it, keeping a secret is hard work.” He pulls a chair out for Ms. Witty before sitting.

“For you maybe,” Cory says with a laugh. “Not all of us like to gossip like you.”

“I’ve rubbed off on him over the years,” Ms. Witty confesses, actually sounding proud that she’s made Witty a Nosy Nelly. She turns to Yanni, smiles. “I knew I’d be seeing you around again, sugar.”

Yanni turns bashful under her gaze, burrows into Jake’s side. “Hi, Ms. Molly.”

“Shots for the table!” Connor announces, laying down a tray of little yellow shots. “I have no idea what’s in them but Bray said they’re called the Golden Ticket.”

“They look like piss,” Witty says.

Connor takes one and downs it. “Can confirm they do not taste like piss. Drink up.”

The table does, grimacing at the sharp cinnamon flavor and bite of the vodka. 

“Couldn’t leave one for me?”

“Bro!” Connor shouts, rounding the table to give Carter a hug. “I’ll do a shot with you, let’s go. Bray’s back in town, he’s bartending now...crazy, right?”

“He’s a mess tonight,” Pudge says once they’ve wandered off toward the bar.

Jake doesn’t like to start rumors but he’d bet money on Anna being the root of Connor’s behavior. “At least he’s got Carter to be his usual handsy mess with,” he says instead. “I’m not taking anymore shots.”

Yanni nudges him. “I think it’s about to start.”

Jake hops up and grabs the remote to turn up the sound, the opening credits casting a hush over the crowd. Everyone settles into a seat to watch.

Jake’s unreasonably nervous. He’s pretty sure Yanni gets a golden ticket, he doesn’t think he’d ask for a party if he gets turned down, but there’s still a chance, right?

Yanni lays his hand on Jake’s bouncing knee, settling it. “Just watch.”

So he does, downing the rest of his beer before they’re even halfway through. There are a lot of great singers on this episode, a lot of golden tickets have already been given out. And then he sees him.

Yanni’s got his guitar strapped on his back, waiting in line for his number. The bar breaks out into applause when Ryan Seacrest introduces him.

_“I’m originally from Quebec but I have been living in St. Louis for the past five years. I planned to audition in Tulsa, actually, but I wasn’t able to make it. I got held up on my way there, business I had to take care of.”_

Jake adores the bashful smiles Yanni gives the camera.

_“I’ve come a long way for this chance and I really hope I can impress the judges.”_

Jake’s heart is in his throat when Yanni enters the audition room, guitar in hand. He introduces himself brightly, the judges falling over themselves for his accent.

_“I’m going to be singing Dreams by the Cranberries.”_

Yanni’s hand tightens on Jake’s leg as he begins to play on screen. Jake knows the song, he thinks, but he’s never heard it sung the way Yanni does it, the way he lets his voice get raspy when he hits the high notes. The judges are completely transfixed.

_“You're what I couldn't find_

_A totally amazing mind_

_So understanding and so kind_

_You're everything to me”_

They let him play his whole audition which like, never happens. Jake exhales after the last note, takes the hand Yanni has on his leg and holds it, squeezes it. It was perfect.

_“Seemed like you were singing that to someone who isn’t here,” Luke Bryan says. “It was beautiful, man.”_

_“Thank you so much.”_

Jake loves the little flush that colors Yanni’s cheeks on screen, the way he looks down at his feet like he’s embarrassed by the praise. Jake’s never gonna shut up about how fantastic he was.

_“I think I speak for the rest of the judges when I say that was one of the best auditions we’ve heard today.” Katy Perry says. “Welcome to Hollywood!”_

The bar erupts in cheers as Yanni takes the golden ticket from Katy and shakes everyone’s hands. Jake wraps him up in hug, finds his lips for a kiss.

“I’m so proud of you!”

Yanni’s smiling but he pushes Jake back into his chair. “Wait, listen.”

There’s no one there to greet Yanni when he comes out of the audition room and Jake’s heart hurts. He should have been there.

_“That was crazy,” Yanni says to the camera. “I can’t believe...I didn’t think they would like me. I’m still shaking.”_

Jake swoons at his little laugh.

_“This was my dream, you know? Show the world that I can sing, play the guitar. I have wanted to be a singer for so long and having this ticket, the chance to be something, to show the world...I don’t know if it means the same thing to me as it did a week ago.”_

The floor drops out from under Jake. “Yanni, _what--_ ” _  
_

_“There is no guarantee, but I think that I could do pretty well here, yeah? I know there are so many amazing artists here, but I think...well, two days ago I was singing for an audience of one, and that was...love...and love is a one-time thing. It’s something I can’t pass up. I hope the person I love heard my audition. I hope he knows I sang it for him and that I’ll see him very soon.”_

The bar is silent and Jake feels the weight of everyone’s eyes on them. He has no idea what to say.

Yanni reaches up to play with the hairs along the back of Jake’s neck. “I love you.”

“Oh come on!” Witty yells, tossing a pile of napkins at them. “Way to make the rest of us look like idiots.”

It startles Jake into laughter and he dodges a few balled up napkins from another table.

“Way to set the bar way too high,” Pudge adds. “Jesus.”

“Oh, honey,” Ms. Witty says, consoling Pudge. “I’m sure you’re very romantic.

“Braydon’s romantic too!” Slater shouts. “You don’t have a monopoly on great romantic gestures!”

Jake wants everyone to shut the hell up about it, maybe wisk Yanni away from them entirely. Hole up in his house for the rest of his vacation time. “You’re amazing,” he says, quiet enough that only Yanni can hear him over the heckling.

“Drinks for Nowhere’s most famous lovers!” Carter jolts them out of their moment when he drops a pair of sickly pink drinks in front of them. “You really hit it out of the ballpark on the first try, eh Dotch?”

“Uh…” Jake flushes hot, and not in the good way.

“ _Please_ tell me he’s a terrible kisser,” he says, turning to Yanni. “I’ve had a bet on this for years.”

“A bet?”

“Yeah, when Jake’d finally get his firs--.”

Jake doesn’t know what to do besides smack his hand over Carter’s stupid, drunk mouth. “I think Connor’s looking for you.”

Carter licks the palm of his hand, because he’s obnoxious, before slinking away back toward the bar.

“What was he going to say?” Yanni asks, the tip of his tongue peeking out to wet his bottom lip.

“N-nothing. He’s an idiot.”

Yanni leans in, pulls Jake to him so he can whisper into his ear. “Am I your first, Jacob?”

Jake jerks back. His neck is hot and he can still feel everyone’s eyes on them. “I, um. Bathroom,” he stutters out before raising as calmly as he can manage and heading for the empty end of the bar and ducking into the door.

He leans up against the far wall, slides down without pausing to remember that he’s in a bar bathroom, too caught up in the thoughts swirling in his head when he pulls his legs close and rests his head on his knees.

For one minute there, he’d forgotten that he’s a loser. And he never got around to telling Yanni about his lack of, well, everything, and _now_ is when he finds out. After making that grand romantic gesture, Yanni’s learned that he should have stayed where he was.

“Jacob?” Jake looks up to see Yanni standing in the open door.

“I’m sorry,” is all Jake can think to say.

“Sorry for what?” Yanni steps the rest of the way in, the door silently swings closed behind him.

“That was so amazing, what you did, and you...you wasted it on me.”

“Haven’t we already had this talk?” Yanni asks, his soft smile is fond, and it’s too much.

“No, we haven’t!” Jake drops his gaze to his knees. “We never talked about how I’m known as a total loser that no one has ever been interested in before.”

“I think I’m a little more than interested.” Yanni’s voice is even softer than his smile and Jake’s just--

“No, I know, but you deserve better.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that for myself, hm?” Yanni says, walking back to the bathroom door and turning the lock.

Jake flushes when Yanni very obviously looks him up and down.

“Oh look, I’ve decided,” he says, walking back over to where Jake’s sitting. “Make room.”

“This is the bathroom floor of a bar,” Jake complains, even as he drops his legs and Yanni straddles him.

“Yeah, but you’re already here.” He looks around. “And I’ve definitely seen worse bar bathrooms.”

“Yeah the, uh, the new owner has pretty high standards.” Jake chuckles humorlessly. “Maybe you could do with some of those.”

“Jacob Dotchin! I am insulted.” Yanni cradles his face. “I happen to think that there is nothing wrong with my standards.” He presses a hard kiss to Jake’s lips, then there’s something new in his tone when he speaks again, “And maybe I like the thought that no one else has touched you."

“Um. What?” Jake blinks at him.

He grins in return. “I mean, no one else has ever gotten to…” He trails off, running his hands across Jake’s shoulders. “This is all _mine_.”

Jake never considered that someone would be excited to be the first, to have to walk him through every little thing, to deal with his subpar skills, his crippling doubt. “Yeah?”

“Of course, you silly boy,” he replies, popping the first few of Jake’s shirt buttons easily. “You know, I couldn’t even tell, that first time. It was so _good_.”

Jake sucks in a sharp breath when Yanni leans down to bite a kiss at the base of his neck.

“But knowing...knowing makes me want to have you all the time. Keep you spread out on a bed just for me,” Yanni says against Jake’s skin.

“Ngh.”

“Think of all the things I’m going to teach you,” he purrs, reaching for Jake’s belt.

“T-this is public indecency.” He makes half an attempt to stop Yanni’s work.

“Only if we get caught.”

Jake’s pretty sure his soul leaves his body at the dirty look in Yanni’s eyes. “Which we _could_ ,” he grits out.

“Oh? Are you going to arrest yourself?” he asks, slapping Jake’s useless hands away.

Jake hisses when Yanni’s fingers wrap around his dick, any fight he had instantly turning into greedy desire. “N-no.”

“Didn’t think so,” Yanni mutters in his ear.

Jake’s body tenses at the first flick of his wrist, clenches his teeth a little at the dry drag of Yanni’s hand.

“Oh,” Yanni says, retreating quickly. “Here.”

Jake opens his mouth to complain (to beg) but Yanni fills the space with his fingers, three of them.

“Get them wet for me.” Yanni kisses the ridge of Jake’s shoulder, drags the pads of his fingers along Jake’s tongue.

Jake grabs Yanni’s wrist as he licks between his fingers, holding him still. Yanni looks a little broken, his own mouth hanging open a little, eyes hooded.

He slips his fingers from between Jake’s lips. “Okay.”

Jake’s nerves spark back to life when Yanni returns to his dick, the slide of his hand so much better now. His stamina has gotten a lot of practice over the last month, but this is still Yanni - the most amazingly beautiful man Jake’s ever so much as looked at. So it’s a lot. 

And maybe it’s the way that Yanni’s boxing him in, or the trail of biting kisses he’s running down Jake’s chest, his shirt having slipped off of his shoulder, exposing more skin for Yanni to taste. Or maybe it’s the dirtiness of it, of the bathroom floor and his own spit smeared everywhere, the _illicitness_ of the whole situation, but it’s--

“Are you gonna come for me?” Yanni asks.

“N-no.” Jake grits his teeth, shakes his head jerkily.

“No?” Yanni raises an eyebrow.

“I-I don’t want to always be...be--” Yanni changes his grip, and Jake’s words cut off with a gasp.

“Stop being so ridiculous, this is just pregame.” Yanni kisses him. His face darkens when he adds, “I still owe you that hattrick.”

“Fuck, Yanni.” Jake’s body goes impossibly tighter.

“Please, Jacob, I want you to... _please_.” Yanni’s breath is more uneven than Jake’s and he’s begging so prettily that it’s too much. Jake comes, unable to hold off any longer.

He shakes a little as Yanni strokes him through it, muttering words his brain can’t parse this close to orgasm. Or wait, maybe that’s not even English. “What are you...”

Yanni’s head snaps up from where he was watching Jake and Jake’s reminded of the day at the park, of the look he had on his face then. Now he knows what it is.

It’s awe.

Jake isn’t sure why anything about him could have someone like Yanni awestruck, with his cheeks flushed pink and his eyes wide and bright. “Yanni…?”

“I love you, Jake. _I love you_. And you deserve to be happy, okay?”

“So do you.”

“I am.” Yanni runs a finger down Jake’s nose and Jake’s favorite smile makes an appearance. The one that’s only for him.

“Yeah?” Jake snaps at Yanni’s finger playfully when it passes over his lips.

“Of course,” Yanni leans in, plants a peck of a kiss on Jake. Then he grimaces, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m not happy about walking around the rest of the night half-hard until I get you home.”

“I could take care of you too, you know,” Jake offers bravely, his hands reaching for that absurd belt buckle.

“First of all,” Yanni starts, placing a hand on Jake’s. “That’s enough criminal activity for you tonight, and second, I think I like the idea of you looking at me the rest of the night and knowing how much I want you.”

“Yanni, Jesus.” 

He smirks as he leans it for one more breathless kiss before getting back to his feet. “You should see yourself,” he says. “What a mess I’ve made you.”

A second wave of arousal curls low in Jake’s belly at Yanni’s words. “Please stop talking.”

Yanni laughs all the way to the sink.

 

//

 

Jake steps out of the bathroom first, because he’s a gentleman, but Yanni doesn’t seem to have any shyness about the love bites peppering his neck and the unruly state of their hair despite efforts to fix it.

Jake’s fixing the collar of his shirt when he catches Slater’s gaze, still sitting next to Braydon at their table. He gives Jake a little wink and Jake would love it if the floor could just swallow him whole.

“Must be something in the water, eh?” Braydon asks, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear him.

“Something like that,” Slater agrees, leaning in to him for a kiss.

“I think people know what we did,” Jake bends down to whisper to Yanni.

He shrugs. “If I could, I’d tell the whole world you are mine.”

Jake’s going to have to learn to get used to Yanni saying things like that. He can’t be blushing this much. It’s ridiculous.

“You think we can leave our own party early?”

Jake looks around at Slater and Braydon canoodling, at Connor and Carter heckling Bray to do a shot with them like the idiots they are, Witty laughing at Pudge as Ms. Witty runs the pool table. “I don’t think anyone’ll mind. But what happened to waiting all night?”

Yanni huffs. “Sometimes waiting is over-rated.”

“Yeah,” Jake says, appreciating Yanni’s messy curls and bitten lips and the way his belt sits just a little off-center. Everything Jake did to him. “But sometimes it isn’t.”

Sometimes when you live in a town full of coincidences, it makes every minute spent waiting worth it.

“Take me home?” Yanni asks.

Home. Yeah, Jake can do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yanni's audition was inspired by this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6mwCT8BGdI


End file.
